If you're a fan of high-calibre amateur hockey, there was likely no better place in all of western Canada yesterday than Penticton.
The action started just after dawn and didn’t end 'til mid-evening, and the SOEC grounds where all ten games went down were nothing short of a madhouse.
But if you missed, it, not to worry. Near-identical scenarios will repeat every day to the middle of the month.
The occasion is the 2020 BDO Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Championships. Called "education-based hockey" by its organizing body, the CSSHL aims to build "the complete student athlete" by focusing on areas such as academic excellence, character, citizenship, sportsmanship, and hockey development. To be involved in the program, a student must enroll in a school that's aligned with the CSSHL.
This is the sixth straight year Penticton has hosted the event. And in that time, it's grown markedly. In 2015, 33 teams and 609 student-players came to town. This year, it's 74 and 1300, from all over western Canada (and even Coeur D'Alene, Idaho).
According to "CSSHL Media," the 11-day hockey bonanza has generated an "$8.1-million economic impact for the City of Penticton" over the past three years alone.
Yesterday, games were confined to Memorial Arena and the adjacent Okanagan Hockey Training Centre. Today and Saturday, Summerland Arena joins in the fun, and by Sunday, after the Brad Paisley and Kidz Bop World Tours clear out of Penticton, the SOEC itself becomes the hub.
There'll even be a trio of games next week at the Oliver Arena.
PentictonNow took in a couple of opening-day contests. At Memorial Arena, Okanagan Hockey Academy trounced Calgary's International Hockey Academy 4-1. Next door at the Hockey Training Centre, Edge School of Calgary "edged" Burnaby Winter Club Academy 3-2.
For the age groups, it was top-notch, high-energy stuff. Even the pedestrian areas outside the rinks, where players, teams, coaches, parents, and fans go to talk shop or knock soccer balls around, was abuzz.
The BDO CSSHL Championships run from today through to March 15th. Tickets are available here or in person at the Valley First Box Office at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
And prices are reasonable. Fifteen bucks gets you a day pass, $45 buys a division pass, and $60 grants total access.
For more information, hit up the BDO CSSHL Championships website.
