11 hours ago
Thousands flood Bay Roberts for largest street hockey tournament in N.L.
Thousands of people rolled into Bay Roberts over the weekend for the largest street hockey tournament in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It marked the seventh annual running of the Light the Lamp tournament, with nearly 270 teams from all over the province hitting the street to play hundreds of games over two days.
Eddie Russell, the town's recreation director, said the first day saw 400 games alone. He estimates that at least 8,000 people passed through the tournament grounds.
"It's a pretty massive event for sure," said Russell.
The event grounds had 20 courts, with 18 kids playing at a time and two referees each.
"It's organized chaos," said Russell. "There's so many moving pieces and it all comes together."
While most of the players come for the competition, Russell said it's also a time for people to come together.
"Everybody likes to win, but you make new friends, you spend time with your teammates, parents, all that stuff," he said.
The championship games were gearing up when Russell spoke to CBC on Sunday. He said he was relieved that everything had gone so smoothly.
"[I'm] proud to be a part of this event, part of the team and the committee, the staff, the town itself, that we could pull off such a major event," he said.
Jack Norman, Ava Parsons and Mason Akerman rounded out a hometown team called the Bay Roberts Mini Stix.
They said the weekend was all about the competition — but also about taking in some of the off-court activities.
"[I was] trying to go hard and focusing in," Norman said.
"We just played a lot of games and I had a lot of slushies," said Akerman.
The squad remained focused and motivated heading into the championship games and were appreciative that the event drew so many people to their town.
"It's really nice that they're coming to Bay Roberts to experience Light the Lamp," said Norman.
Mayor Geoff Seymour, said the event was a great boost for his community, describing it as a "first class event."
"It's an opportunity for 2,000 to 3,000 kids to get out there and enjoy two days of outdoor activity, fresh air, and exercise. That's perhaps the most important thing," he said.
Not only was the tournament a hit among kids, it also brought with it an economic boost.
"All these people coming into town for two days, hotels are filled, Airbnbs are filled, restaurants, takeouts, convenience stores, shopping — there is an economic spinoff that comes from it," said Seymour.
Next to the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games, which took place in Bay Roberts last year, Seymour said the annual street hockey tournament is the busiest event of the year.
"It's an amazing event. We've been doing this for seven years and I think it just gets better," he said.
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