No one has done more for December tourism in Richmond over the past 15 years than Wendy Steadman.
As tournament director for the 33rd annual Richmond International Hockey Tournament, Steadman oversees an event that brings a throng of visitors to the city. This year, a whopping 40 of the 60 participanting teams are from outside the Lower Mainland, including nearly 30 from the United States. California alone has 12 registered teams.
“It really does bring a lot of people to the city at a time of year when it normally would be pretty quiet. The hotels should be pretty happy,” laughed Steadman who first stepped up as a volunteer when her oldest son was Atom age. He is now 26. “It’s something I just really enjoy doing. I love working with the coaches and the people involved with the tournament. It’s what brings me back every year.”
Under Steadman’s leadership the Richmond International has evolved with the constant changes in minor hockey and this year is no exception. For the first time, a Bantam Division has been added which will feature 10 teams competing in two tiers. She insists it has nothing to do with trying to take teams away from the long-running Burnaby Minor Bantam Christmas Tournament which is in its 51st year. In fact, Steadman was on the phone with Burnaby tournament director Larry Haynes immediately following the decision to proceed with the new division.
“It’s something we have tossed around the last couple of years,” said Steadman. “We knew there are out of town programs that would be interested in bringing their Bantam teams too. But the main reason was the opportunity to expand our volunteer pool. When you have only two (host Midget) teams it becomes really cumbersome coming up with enough people to give up their time at this time of year to run a tournament of this size.”
Organizers are happy with the initial number of teams especially since the decision to proceed with a Bantam Division wasn’t made until late September. They also learned the 46th annual Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament (KIBIT) — moved its dates from April to Jan. 1-5.
Steadman also says the tournament committee is keeping a close eye on the Major Midget Division which continues to be a struggle to attract teams despite being the only Lower Mainland option for B.C. Major Midget Hockey League clubs. The top four or five BCMMHL typically head to Calgary for the annual Macs Tournament. Now, there is a growing rivalry between the BCMMHL and school academy programs to deal with. The North Island Silvertips are the lone representation in this year’s eight team division.
A possibility is a High School Division which would be an option for Lower Mainland academies and potentially attract U.S. schools as well. “It’s something we’re looking at,” Steadman admitted.
This year’s tournament got underway yesterday and continues through to the five divisional finals on New Year’s Eve. Minoru Arena will host the Midget Tier II (8:30 a.m.), Midget Tier I (11:15 a.m.) and Major Midget (2 p.m.) championship games. The Bantam Tier I and II finals will take place at the Richmond Ice Centre’s Coliseum and Garage rinks at 8:30 a.m.
Among the host entries, the Richmond A1 Blues are off to a solid 7-2-2 start in Pacific Coast tier one league play, despite a 2-0 loss to arch-rival Seafair (9-2-1) last Saturday.
