The Weyburn Esso Cup committee is very busy right now, as they ensure that all their volunteer needs are met before the national tournament.
The Esso Cup, which is the national female AAA midget tournament, will be held at Crescent Point Place on April 17 to 23.
“We are expecting 150 to 180 players on the teams who are attending the tournament,” said Dale Renz, co-chair of the Esso Cup host committee.
All the teams are housed in hotels, so there are no billets required. In addition to players, a number of coaches, officials, scouts and Saskatchewan Hockey Association representatives will be in Weyburn for the Esso Cup.
The teams will come from the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba/Saskatchewan, Alberta/British Columbia and the host team (the Southern Range Gold Wings).
“Of course, once the teams are decided, we are hopefully of a couple hundred family, friends and fans.”
In addition, there will be lots of media coverage of the Esso Cup, with Sask. Hockey stream-living the game coverage, TSN covering the gold medal game, and local media attending.
“The Esso Cup should create some buzz around the community.”
Already, there has been a great start by the host committee to recruit volunteers for the Esso Cup. “We already have a list of 180 volunteers, which includes our host committee,” said Renz.
However, since French/English is the official language of the Esso Cup championship, there is a specific request for volunteers who are bilingual to help out during the event.
“It is our job to present some of the announcements and printed material in a bilingual manner.”
“It is especially important for media coverage. So if you are bilingual and have a great voice, then you could help us with some pre-taped announcements,” said Renz.
“We would also benefit from bilingual volunteers in the public relations area, to assist with our French-speaking guests. It would be nice to have someone on hand to help us to handle the language barrier.”
Renz noted that it is also important that they can find bilingual singers, to perform the National Anthem before the games.
There is still time to volunteer for different jobs during the Esso Cup. Renz noted that they still need drivers for the host vehicles, and that they are also looking for 50/50 sellers, ticket takers and security. “We just invite people to get their names to Rose Ripplinger, our volunteer chair,” said Renz.
“We want to show off what Weyburn has to offer during the Esso Cup,” said Renz. “ We are trying to involve everyone in the community some way.”
He noted that ticket sales have gone extremely well. “Hockey Canada is very excited about the number of game packages that have been pre-sold.”
Esso Cup tickets are sold during home game of the Southern Range Gold Wings, or residents can purchase their package from the Weyburn Review/ Weyburn This Week office.
There has also been some good support from the business community in regards to sponsorship packages being purchased.
Anyone who wants to get more information about sponsorship packages, or other ways to assist during the Esso Cup, can contact Dale Renz or Peter Schaefer with the Weyburn Esso Cup host committee.
