According to an announcement posted at the South Okanagan Events Centre website at 10 a.m. Friday morning, play in the 2020 BDO Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Championships has been suspended.
The news comes in the midst of a spate of Coronavirus-attributed cancellations, and just four days after Penticton learned it will continue to play host to the popular event for the next three years.
This year's edition attracted a stunning 74 teams and 1300 players from all over western Canada (and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho). There were officially three days left in the 11-day tournament when it was canceled, including most quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship games.
Upcoming contests would have focused on the SOEC complex (South Okanagan Events Centre, Memorial Arena, Okanagan Hockey Training Centre), with a handful of outliers at Summerland Arena and Oliver Arena.
The announcement at the SOEC site fell under the headline "Coronavirus Update" and included ticket refund information.
PentictonNow reached out to the SOEC for comment and received the following statement attributable to the CSSHL:
“The Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) has cancelled the remainder of the 2020 BDO CSSHL Championships in Penticton, BC, and the remainder of the 2020 CSSHL Eastern Championships in Montague, PEI. As members of Hockey Canada, we are fully supportive and are following their direction.”
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, students must enroll in schools that are aligned with the CSSHL mandate.
