Prince George will become pond hockey central this winter.

The city has been picked to host the Northern Regional pond hockey championships Jan. 14-16, 2011, part of a three-stop regional series of tournaments.

Prince George joins Rossland and a site to be determined as host cities for the pond hockey tour. Once all three cities have been identified, those cities will host annual regional events and one will be picked to host the provincial championships, an event that happens every two years."

"The receptiveness of P.G. has been great," said event organizer John Reed, in a prepared release. "The great thing about the design of the series is that each partner community will host an annual pond hockey event, in addition to hosting the provincial championships which will take place every two years and rotate between the partner communities starting in 2013."

Reed will be in Prince George all this week to meet with event organizers and potential sponsors.

There are openings for 100 teams of four-six players. Registration in competitive and recreational divisions is on a first-served basis and is available online at www.bcpondhockey.com.

Players must be at least 19 years old.