Teams are signing up for the third annual Sun Valley outdoor pond hockey tournament, to be held over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16-17 on Ketchum ice.
Organizer and tournament founder Piers Lamb, who hosted 28 teams in 2007 and maxed out at 30 teams last year, said, "We're expecting this tournament to be bigger and better. I've heard from teams from Missoula, Bozeman, Reno, Los Angeles, Boise, McCall and Moscow. It's going be great."
Lamb said the format is four-on-four (maximum 6 skaters on a team), no goalies and double elimination. It is a traditional pond hockey format modeled after the National Pond Hockey Championship held at St. Paul, Minn. each year.
He said there are two divisions: "A" (basically stronger B+, A, and Suns-level skaters) and "B" (basically weaker A, B+ and below skaters).
The tournament is staged on the ice at Ketchum's Atkinson Park. The outdoor "pond" is divided into three sheets of ice so there are six teams playing two 15-minute halves.
The "B" division tournament is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The "A" division is Sunday from 10-4. Both divisions compete for the coveted "Golden Shovel." Sun Valley Brewing and Falls Brand Bratwurst are sponsors for the spectator-friendly tournament. There will be cheap beers, cheap food and bonfires.
For more details, contact Lamb at 721-7765. Registration forms can be dropped off with Dave Keir at the Blaine County Recreation District office in Hailey, or with John Kearney Jr. at Atkinson Park.
