The top ringette teams in B.C. will take to the ice in Prince George this weekend at the 2014 BC Ringette A & B provincial championships.
Twenty-three squads from across the province, including Prince George U14B and U16B teams, will begin play on Friday and continue until Sunday with the medal rounds.
[Provincials] are an official test event for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in officiating, the venue and the host volunteers, said Prince George Ringette Association president Janine Gervais. The 23 teams will be divided into five divisions from U14 to U19. The games will be played at Kin 2, and 3 rinks, and the Coliseum. The Coliseum is the 2015 Canada Winter Games venue.
The teams competing are the top A- and B-level qualifying teams from each of the four regional leagues across B.C. - the Lower Mainland, Thompson-Okanagan, Northern Ringette and Vancouver Island.
Play begins Friday at 7:30 a.m. at the Coliseum when Prince George battles Terrace in U16B action. Prince George U14B takes on Quesnel at 7:30 a.m. at Kin 2 and Vernon plays North West Vancouver Ringette Association at 7:45 at Kin 3.
The U16A gold medal final at the Coliseum gets underway Sunday at 12:45 p.m., followed by the U19A final at 2:30 p.m. and the U16B final at 4:45 p.m.
The U14B final is at 12:45 p.m. at Kin 2, while the 14A final begins at 1 p.m. at Kin 3.
The hub of the tournament will be in the lobby of the Kin rinks on Friday and Saturday.
We havent hosted provincials since 2010, so were pretty excited about this, said Gervais.
Justine Lamothe and Sydney Irving from the Prince George U18+ Open Rush team are currently on the roster of Team B.C. for the Canada Winter Games.
While they wont be competing this weekend, Gervais said they will be volunteering. They are also going through the final stages of tryouts.
The entire schedule can be found online at: http://pgringette ca/provincials2014/schedule/
