When I was a videographer at CHEX Television, I knew every January I would be covering the Annual Peterborough Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament. The biggest of its kind in the province, has been running for 58 years. I covered it many times. This year though, it’s a whole new experience for me. For the first time, my son is playing in the tournament!
Lakeland, Liam and Giorgio representing The Lakefield Chiefs at the Skills Competition
My son LOVES hockey. He’s been waiting for this tournament for years. He’s heard the buzz, he’s heard the hype and now it is here. It’s kinda like Christmas for him honestly!
The tournament doesn’t officially start until Thursday January 7 (FULL SCHEDULE HERE), but we did get to experience the skills competition Tuesday night at the Evinrude Centre. We loaded into the full parking lot, got dressed in the van in case there was no room inside and we made our way in. We were instantly greeted with helpful smiles and a medallion! The 300-400 volunteers who make it happen were amazing. They saw the dazed and confused look on my face and were quick to help!
Pre skills competition warm up in the mini van. Getting dressed in a 3×3 space works up a great sweat.
There was no cost for the skills competition. Just donations for Kawartha Food Share!
Giorgio was all butterflies. He was so nervous. He didn’t want to go, but he did want to go. I told him, just get dressed and see how it goes. If said if you’re too stressed out than don’t do it. I don’t care if you do it or not. He was signed up for target shooting.
Surprisingly we found a fairly empty dressing room to put on his skates. There were only a few kids getting ready. I said hey to everyone and asked the boys where they were from. The one boy quickly answered, “I’m from Campbellford and I’m REALLY nervous. I’m first year Atom”.
The relief that washed over my son’s face was priceless. Another boy piped up and said, “I’m nervous too!”. Hundreds of kids felt just the same. Giorgio instantly relaxed and chatted up the boys about how many shots they would get, and how many points each target was worth. The arena was wall to wall kids and parents. The kids were compliant and full of nervous energy. It was really cool.
While I covered the tournament as a journalist, we usually focused on how great it was for the city. With 116 teams from across the province registered, you can quickly guess the math on what kind of dollars are flowing between hotels and restaurants. There’s no denying the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament is a great economic driver.
But as a parent and Mommy blogger, I can tell you, The Peterborough Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament isn’t just driving our economy, it’s shaping our kids. My son, just as thousands of others do, will remember this weekend for the rest of his life.
Thank you to the countless volunteers, coaches, parents and organizers who make this tradition come together every year. Remember be patient if you are out this weekend, there are a lot of us. A LOT OF US.
This pic cracks me up. I think they have enough on the bench for a few lines whatta ya think?
MF
