Play On! (tournament)

Play On! is a Canadian 4-on-4 street hockey tournament. Founded in 2003, it is the largest sports festival in Canada. After a 2007 sponsorship, the tournament has taken on the official name Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! tournament.

History

Founded by Scott Hill,[1] the tournament began in 2003, and was played only in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first tournament saw 121 teams of five enter.[2] Over time, it has become Canada’s largest sports festival.[3] In 2004 and 2005 the tournament partnered with the Canadian sports television network TSN and the NHL. It did not take place in 2006 during the NHL lock-out. Then in 2007 the tournament took on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada as its title sponsor, changing its name to Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! As of 2016 there had been more than two million competitors that have played in 155 total local tournaments. The number of cities hosting the event has grown over the years to twenty-one in total. In 2013 the national championship was broadcast on the CBC.[4] NHL players that have competed in the tournament over the years have included Jordan Eberle, Adam Pardy, Ryan Spooner, Connor McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, and Nathan MacKinnon.[5] Hill continues to serve as the tournament’s National Director.[1]

Tournament

The tournament consists of five player teams (four forwards or defensive players and one goaltender) that compete against each other in two day local tournaments over a nine-week period between May and June. The competitions each have age divisions, ranging from seven-and-under through 35-and-over divisions, with thirty divisions in total (both recreational and competitive); those divisions are then slotted into the categories of Youth Street, Adult Street, Elite, and Corporate teams. Teams play in a round robin format before the top teams from each round robin group enter a one-and-done playoff structure. Each tournament has an accompanying street fair, and generally there is an accompanying celebrity game in each location featuring local public figures, including retired NHL players.[2][3][6][7] Some regions have pre-tournaments for local hockey players in order to determine the teams for the Play On! tournament itself.[8]

National Street Hockey Championship

In September of each year a national championship is played between the best four men’s and best four women’s teams from each region, who advance to a final national tournament,[6] and the winners are awarded The Redwood Cup. The award is named after the Kingsville, Ontario street where the tournament founder Scott Hill grew up. The Redwood Cup is 49 inches high, made of Canadian red wood, and weighs 63 pounds.[2] The men’s finals tournament was first played in 2005, and the first women’s finals tournament was played in 2009.[9] The finals are played on Sports Day in Canada, an event sponsored by the CBC.[10] Play On! holds the Guinness World record as the largest street hockey tournament in the world, setting the mark with 5,360 teams and 35,970 players in 2013.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Q&A with Play On! Director Scott Hill". 15 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 SportsMongerBlogs (28 June 2013). "Hockey Night in Canada's PlayOn! Street Hockey Tournament".
  3. 1 2 "Halifax Play On! - June 18 and 19 - Central Minor Hockey Federation".
  4. ↑ OttawaCommunityNews.com. "Stittsville team plays in finals in PlayOn! street hockey tournament".
  5. ↑ "Hockey Night in Canada's Play On - Redefining the Street Hockey Lifestyle – QMJHL".
  6. 1 2 "Hitting the streets for the nation's game".
  7. ↑ Griwkowsky, Catherine. "Street hockey tournament brings 'em out at West Ed".
  8. ↑ nurun.com. "Street hockey takes over horse park".
  9. ↑ "Play on 2013 National Championship" (PDF). Canadian Sport Tourism.
  10. ↑ "CBC Ottawa - Events".
  11. ↑ "Largest street hockey tournament".

External links

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