If ever there was a local hockey rink that could use cash for repairs and upgrades, it’s the Enderby Arena.
The source for hockey for players throughout the North Okanagan, as well as the neighbouring curling club, have been shut down for the rest of the season, as of Jan. 4, because of a refrigeration problem.
The Enderby Arena has since been nominated in the annual Kraft Hockeyville contest, which sees one community in Canada selected to receive $250,000 toward upgrades and repairs through an online event.
Once an arena is registered for the contest at hockeyville.kraftcanada.ca, people can search for the arena to go to its nomination page.
A nomination story accounts for 80 per cent of the community’s score. To earn points, competitors must submit either a written or video story telling organizers why the community’s arena should hold the title of Kraft Hockeyville 2024.
The other 20 per cent of the score comes from rally points, earned by uploading supporting photos of the arena, leaving encouraging notes for the arena, or by reacting to nominations on the arena’s community page.
Enderby Arena has received 24 nomination stories (as of Thursday, Jan. 25) including this one from Alyson L.: “Enderby has that classic small-town community spirit. The arena is a gathering place for families of all backgrounds because nothing brings Canadians together like hockey.”
And Andrea L. wrote: “Enderby is a small town in the North Okanagan with hockey as its core. My own child has only been playing for three years, but the walls are filled with history of generations of players. This old barn has given countless kids their start and built their love of the sport.”
The nomination period and rally runs until Feb. 18. Judging starts the next day by Kraft Hockeyville judges, and runs until March 9 when the top four communities Canada-wide will be announced.
Voting for the final four runs from March 29 (6 a.m. Pacific) to March 30 (2 p.m. Pacific). The winner will be announced during Hockey Night in Canada March 30. The winning community gets the $250,000 and a chance to host an NHL pre-season game.
Lumby won Kraft Hockeyville in 2016 and hosted many events in the village. The NHL exhibition game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers was played at Kal Tire Place in Vernon.
Kal Tire Place is among the 50 or so B.C. arenas that had received nominations as of Jan. 25 (KTP had one nomination story).
More information can be found at hockeyville.kraftcanada.ca.
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