Hundreds of student-athlete hockey players from across North America are coming back to Penticton next month for the biggest tournament of their seasons.
The Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Western Championships returns to Penticton from March 2 to 16, with more than 100 teams expected to hit the local ice for around 200 games.
This will mark the ninth time Penticton has hosted the event.
Players on the 104 teams 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” hailing from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Idaho, and Washington 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” range in age from 13 to 18. Local clubs from Kelowna's RINK Hockey Academy and Penticton-based Okanagan Hockey Academy will be featured.
Games will be played on rinks within the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) complex in Penticton.
In 2023, the City of Penticton reached a five-year, $500,000 deal with CSSHL to keep the tournament in the Okanagan for the foreseeable future. There is an additional five-year extension clause after the 2029 edition of the tournament.
City officials estimated that last year's event had an impact of $5.231 million towards Penticton's local economy.
Tournament organizers added that about 86 per cent of spectators travelled more than 320 kilometres to attend the event and stayed in the city for an average of five nights.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœThe support for our business community that the CSSHL event brings in the shoulder season is incredible and it91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s great to see our accommodations full, restaurants busy, and community on show for this event," said Penticton city manager Anthony Haddad said last summer about the event's impact.
Champions next month will be crowned in the U15, U15 Prep, U17, U17 Prep, U18 Prep and Female U18 Prep divisions.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased on or at the SOEC box office.
Scheduled dates for each division's games:
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ U15: March 2 to 7
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ U15 Prep: March 6 to 11
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ U17: March 11 to 16
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ U17 Prep: March 2 to 7
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ U18 Prep: March 11 to 16
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ Female U18 Prep: March 7 to 12
