While acknowledging that the situation is ever-changing due to COVID-19, 2020 Esso Cup chair Robin Wildey said on Thursday morning that the national female midget AAA championship is still set to take place from April 19-25 at the Art Hauser Centre.
“We have been in talks with Hockey Canada and we’ve been having a daily conference call session with them over the last week,” Wildey said.
“They are obviously aware of the situation and it’s on all of our minds, especially since the Women’s World Championship in Halifax was cancelled last week. On our end, we’re making sure that player safety is first and foremost and we’re doing whatever we can so that the teams, parents and fans are all safe.
“At the end of the day though, it is a Hockey Canada call and we’ll support them no matter what they do.”
The host committee continued their pre-tournament plans Thursday morning with a press conference at the Art Hauser Centre to announce upcoming events surrounding the tournament.
They include a fan fest that will be held in front of the arena on Saturday, April 18 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., along with over 1,400 elementary school students between Grades 4-6 being selected to attend afternoon round-robin games during the week.
“We’re really excited about that and thankful for the Broad Group of Companies for making that possible,” Wildey said.
“We saw firsthand when the Bears were at the tournament in Morden, Man. three years ago how the noon games had an unbelievable environment with all the kids there. I think the teams really look forward to those games because of the great energy in the stands.”
The committee also announced that 157 volunteers have registered for the tournament, but front of house, security and hospitality positions still need to be filled.
Registration is available online at http://events.trustevent.com/index.cfm?eid=3478
