The sound of ice creaking in sub-zero temperatures breaking the silence of the natural surroundings. The acrid burn of the air in the nostrils contradicting the trickles of sweat earned through thirty minutes of effort. The sparkle in the snow from the overhead lights competing with the glimmer in the eyes of 1500 players.

This is Canadian Pond Hockey at its best. A game without million dollar contracts, overpriced hot dogs or flashy in-game entertainment. A game that brings people together to share skills and memories, to compete in and celebrate the purest form of hockey. It’s a return to what makes us love the game.

In January 2006, the inaugural Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships hit the ice at Deerhurst Resort in Ontario’s north. 24 authentic pond hockey rinks transformed Sunset Bay into Championship Pond, where over 130 teams competed for the Maple Cups in the first year alone.  Since then the tournament has grown to include 288 teams, with players traveling from 8 Canadian provinces, 20 US states, and as far as Japan, Australia, and Botswana.

We’ve created quite a buzz…literally. In our first year, we fostered over 97 million media impressions, including features on TSN, CTV, A-Channel, Sportsnet, the Fan in Toronto and Vancouver, CBC Radio, the Toronto Sun, the Calgary Herald, the Vancouver Sun and the Montreal Gazette.  We have over 500 teams who have applied to participate in the past year. We have our trophies and the names of the 2006 Champions in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Due to overwhelming demand, we have added a Masters’ Championship to enable 96 more teams to be a part of hockey history.

Why all the hype? We believe it’s because we’re allowing hockey enthusiasts and adult athletes the shot at realizing their dreams – enjoying the freedom of playing hockey outdoors on the pond, competing for a National Championships when you’ve passed your “athletic peak”, seeing your name on a trophy in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But more than that, the Canadian Nationals are much more than a hockey tournament. It’s an experience.

“When I turned the corner and looked over the 24 rinks on Sunset Pond, it was like I was in hockey heaven…”

Catch the excitement at www.canadapondhockey.ca