Another great year for the Crystal Cup Pond Hockey Challenge on Charlie Lake!

The annual tournament is a weekend long event filled with outdoor fun, community engagement and winter activity in the North Peace that attracts all branches of the community.

Located just outside Fort St. John on Charlie Lake, this year’s Crystal Cup saw the frozen lake packed with activity as players and spectators came out in support. Last year’s tournament saw difficult conditions with warm temperatures and slush impacting organizers and players alike, however this year marked a return to consistency with crowds spread throughout the day and evening.

A pond hockey favourite for over 10 years now, the Crystal Cup attracts returning teams from within and outside the region each year. Teams converge on Charlie Lake for the weekend to enjoy some friendly competition and community camaraderie. As in years past, around 10 acres of the lake were transformed into tournament rinks with space for spectators to watch the games, with additional areas for family-friendly activities.

The Millionaires ended up skating away from this ODR tournament as the champions, winning the championship game 28-16 which took place on Sunday.

The Sid Davis Memorial Youth Pond Hockey Challenge was held on Sunday, pitting the next generations of hockey players against each other at this one-of-a-kind tournament. The Mobil 1 team were the first champions of the day with a win over the Bardown Bulldogs in U15, while Cheap Skates followed with a win over the Griffins in the U9 Division. Next was Walt’s Automotive with their close win over the Ice Blazers for the U7’s. The U11 Championship went to MKEY Ice Dogs over the Ice Hogs, and U13’s championship game went to Netflix and Chel, who came away with a win against another amazing team, the Michigans.

The weekend also saw some other events, with this year’s attendees able to enjoy a meet and greet with sled dogs, car racing on a frozen lake, and an evening firework show providing a glimpse into northern sport and culture. Ice-X racing was hosted on Saturday, with daring drivers racing on a prepared slippery ice track across the frozen lake itself.

Attendees were also able to catch hockey influencer and social media creator Pavel Barber, who ventured west across the country to check out the Crystal Cup for himself.

Another Charlie ‘Laker’ reached out via his social media, Assistant Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Scott Ford. Ford is from Charlie Lake himself and expressed his love and support for community events such as this.

“I grew up in Charlie Lake, I know what it means to have so much support in a small community and to have an event like this that everyone is taking part in is just phenomenal,” Ford said in a video posted to the Crystal Cup’s Facebook page. “Year after year I see how much fun everybody’s having. Just the amount of community support and what it takes to put on a event like this is just phenomenal. Especially in such a small community, one that I once grew up in and was a part of.”

While games were played throughout the day and into the evening, activities were available for all those who attended. Families enjoyed skating at their own pace, children’s activities, hot beverages, food and the beer gardens which are a tradition of the tournament itself, complete with the iconic ice bar setup on the lake.