Tournament of Champions cancelled again

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This article was published 25/01/2022 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The ice was booked, teams registered, volunteers, hotels and myriad other details planned and reconfigured for the return of the Tournament of Champions.

All for naught.

As the Feb. 3 start neared, just two days after the looming end or extension of public health orders prohibiting tournaments due to COVID-19, optimism felt more like delusion. The TOC committee announced the second straight cancellation of its famous 50-plus-year-old event on Tuesday.

COVID-19 2, Blake Stephens 1. That’s the final score of the chairman’s three-year contract with Hockey Brandon to run the event.

“Score one more for the ’Rona … I am a bit tired of it winning so much,” Stephens told the Sun.

“We held on as long as we could and we fought the good fight as long as we could, but at some point, we have to be realistic and that’s where we are,” he added.

“At some point, you’re sticking your finger in the socket and it’s shocked every time, you go ‘OK, maybe I shouldn’t do that.’”

They certainly fought.

The final straw could have been Hockey Winnipeg pulling more than 20 of the event’s 72 teams a couple of weeks ago.

It would have been reasonable to call it off back in December as omicron cases counts took off.

Stephens could have used a little inside information from the province, at least hinting at the likelihood of rules changing to aid the committee’s decision. He reached out for guidance and — expectedly and understandably — didn’t get much.

“The province has just been stonewalling … just official talk,” Stephens said. “‘At this time, we have no intentions of revisiting this restriction until after the Feb. 1 guideline.’ Well, that’s two days before the tournament is supposed to start.”

The event is a pair of four-day stretches — Feb. 3-6 and Feb. 10-13 — with teams from four provinces. It employs the Keystone Centre’s three arenas, the Sportsplex and was set to add the new J&G Homes Arena to the mix.

Other commitments include hotel bookings for the thousands of athletes, sponsors supplying gifts and printing programs and local restaurants providing food. It requires hundreds of volunteer hours to stage the TOC.

It stretches Hockey Brandon’s referee pool thin, and in talks with officials, Stephens found they’re already running on a “skeleton crew.” A couple of positive tests would leave them unable to staff all the games.

The committee concluded that it’s irresponsible to leave so many details up to chance.

Stephens said they were unanimous in the decision to cancel and also in full agreement they left no stone unturned.

“It was easier to take last year,” Stephens said of the event that would have taken place before widespread vaccine availability.

“(Monday) night we had our meeting where we officially cancelled it … it’s just awful. I feel so sad for the kids especially, number one.”

Stephens noted the whole executive crew wants to stay on board. While his contract is up, he’d return if Hockey Brandon would have him.

This year felt like more work than previous ones. They had to adjust and readjust, schedule and reschedule. They had contingency plans and accommodations for pandemic-related restrictions. They want to see their work culminate in games, goals and excitement.

“It was almost more work this year,” Stephens said. “But we’re not putting the tournament on … everything’s been done except the execution, and that’s the part that breaks your heart.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen