Story and photos by Ted Simpson –
On April 18, on the windswept streets of Hintonburg, a battle for ball hockey supremacy raged on throughout the day.
The fourth annual Hintonburg Street Hockey Tournament took place on the four blocks of roadway surrounding the intersection of Hamilton Avenue North and Armstrong Street. In a record turnout, the event drew over 200 participants forming 18 teams, nearly double the average numbers of previous years according to former organizer Jeff Leiper.
The Hintonburg Community Association got a big help this year from the main sponsor, Beyond The Pale brewing company, who were able to take marketing and promotion of the tournament to the next level. The event was also moved up to April after being held previous years in February.
Funds raised over the cost of the tournament are donated to youth programming in the community.
This year featured a new, family friendly B Division, where children and adults got to play together. Mayor Jim Watson was even on hand, crutches and all, to drop the ball for the first B Division game that also featured Councillor Jeff Leiper and MPP Yasir Naqvi getting in on the action. The Division B championship went to the energetic, Team Zekrom (FYI that’s a Pokémon character).
For the final Division A match, everything came down to Beyond The Pale’s own Rye Guys and the aptly named Hintonbombers. In an epic contest of both mind and agility that will surely go down in Kitchissippi legend, the Rye Guys came out victorious and will reign supreme as the Hintonburg street hockey champions until next year.
Click on the images below to enlarge.