ESTEVAN - The Estevan Strippers recreation hockey program is looking forward to the return of their Spring Bust tournament – the largest recreation hockey tournament in the province.
The competition will happen from April 6-10, with games at Affinity Place, the Power Dodge Arena and the Bienfait Memorial Arena.
Forty teams have committed to play, and at least half of them are from outside of the city.
“We’ve had a really good response from everybody,” said Steve Godfrey, who is an organizer of the tournament. “Everybody’s happy that we’re running it again this year, and looking forward to us running it again.”
There will be an over 30 division with 20 teams, an over-45 division with eight teams and a women’s division with eight teams. Teams will be broken down into pools of four, and each team will have three round robin games.
“We’re also happy with the response from the community,” said Godfrey. “The community has helped out in every way it can. The city, all the restaurants and everything have gone out of their way to help us get this thing going again this year.”
Games will be played in the evenings of April 6 and 7 at Affinity Place and the Power Dodge Arena. The action on April 8 will start at about 1 p.m. and continue into the evening, and they will be throughout the day on April 9 and 10. All three arenas will be needed for the final three days.
Beer gardens will be set up at the Power Dodge Curling Centre each day. There will be the traditional cabarets on April 8 and 9. DJ Dave Elliott will be providing music on April 8 and Third Degree Birnz will be the band the following night.
The cabarets also serve as an important fundraiser for the Strippers, allowing them to continue to assist the community. Last week they presented $2,000 to the Parent-Tot Skate program that is offered by the City of Estevan. The club was able to make the donation even though the Strippers haven’t been able to host the tournament the past two years.
“The Strippers have been pretty renowned for the amount of donations that we do in the community, and those are the two big nights for the fundraising,” said Godfrey.
Since 1997, Godfrey said the Strippers have donated more than $200,000 to various community groups in Estevan and surrounding areas.
“That’s probably the thing that we’re proudest of is that we can help the community, and I think that’s why the community gets behind us for this event so much,” said Godfrey.
Oilfield company Baker Hughes supports a safe ride home initiative.
Godfrey said everyone he talks to is looking forward to getting together again, socializing and catching up, especially now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted for a second time.
People can also look forward to a silent auction and some other fundraisers during the weekend, including potentially signed jerseys from local hockey players who are playing professional hockey. And there will be a 50-50 during the tournament.
