Hockey bags and players could be seen everywhere at the ATB Centre on Thursday, which is one of seven southern Alberta arenas hosting Alberta Treaty hockey Games action throughout the weekend.
Set to be a busy couple of days, day one featured more than 12 consecutive hours of ice time at the ATB Centre alone.
“It’s a good event,” said Alberta Treaty Hockey Association president Marty Wildman.
“A lot of kids as you can see are having fun. A lot of people are back to socializing, interacting again, and they’re having a really good time.”
108 teams from First Nations across the province are competing in the four-day tournament, which is being played at six rinks in Lethbridge and one on the Blood Reserve. Organizers said that’s roughly 1,000 kids in total, representing divisions from under-7 all the way to under-21.
After COVID-19 disrupted previous events, Wildman said he feels this year’s tournament signals a new chapter for the event.
“We look to get everything back on track and this becomes an annual event again,” Wildman said.
“Hopefully everything stays the same and everybody stays safe.”
The return of the tournament isn’t only being welcomed by players and organizers, but by vendors as well.
Beryl Stephens, a vendor at this years event, said she has been coming to the games for years and added that it’s an important stop for her business.
“It already looks like there’s a lot of people and it’s only early in the day, so Friday and Saturday is going to be really busy,” Stephens said.
Another sight to see at this years event is the ATB Centre’s Zamboni which was debuted on Thursday with some new artwork.
Kainai artist Tyler Soop was commissioned by the city to create a public art installation on the machine. It features images of a bison on either side, along with Lethbridge’s official greeting of Oki, and on the front reads ‘every child matters’.
“I try to take any chance I can get to bring attention to the horrors of Canada’s dark past,” Soop said in a press release on Thursday.
“I have family members that were enrolled in residential schools, so for me and my community the past is not forgotten.”
Robin Harper, the City of Lethbridge’s general manager of recreation, added this is a great initiative to showcase local talent to visitors and residents alike.
“It’s a great way to display public art to residents and visitors in a way they may not have seen before,” Harper said.
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