It was a great weekend for hockey during the 33rd annual 100 Mile Old Stars Tournament.
Head organizer Greg Aiken said 16 teams competed in three divisions: recreational, ladies, 55-plus and 35-plus. There were some close matches and blowouts but overall the 230 players enjoyed themselves.
“For not having a tournament for three years it went really well,” Aiken said. “Ideally you’d like to have every game competitive and challenging but that doesn’t always happen. There were some really good games on Sunday.”
South Cariboo Motorsports won the recreational division undefeated, the Kamloops Free Radicals won the 55-plus division undefeated, the 100 Mile Shooters won the ladies’ division and Hammered Collusion won the 35-plus division.
Aiken said the biggest challenge of organizing the tournament this year was juggling everyone’s requested matchups.
Red Rock Grill player Gary Shimmin, from 108 Mile Ranch, said even though his team lost all three of their games, it was still fun.
“Hockey is fun and we usually played it every Sunday but when COVID hit that put the brakes on everything,” Shimmin, 48, said. “I haven’t been out really in three years, so it’s like riding a bike.”
His teammate Chris Haveman agreed.
“We got a suspect team but it’s fun to play. It’s just fun to get out and play against people you haven’t seen for a while,” Haveman, 53, said.
Haveman said the two periods of play and the no-contact rules allowed them to play more games and avoid getting too tired.
The Free Radical’s Rick Gibson, who came up from Kamloops, said the tournament is one of his favourites.
“We have been coming here so long we know a lot of people from 100 Mile, so it’s fun,” Gibson said. “Everybody is here for a good time. We go out for a skate and drink some beer, that’s the name of the game.”
Aiken said inviting women and young men to join the Old Stars tournament has made the banquet and dance after the games more enjoyable and lively.
“It’s gone from just a men’s old-timers tournament to a wide open range of players,” Aiken said. “It’s quite a social weekend. Back in the day, the hockey was a lot more competitive but now it’s a lot more fun and not as intense as before.”
Although the costs for catering, referees and ice time have increased, Aiken said he plans to return to hosting two old-timers hockey tournaments a year next winter. One will be in November 2023 and the other in January 2024.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.