The local twin arena complex – with arena named after local hockey and skating legends Bert Hunt and Wally Boschuk – currently has 10 nominations for the prestigious honour, which will see the winning community receive $250,000 for arena upgrades and an NHL exhibition game played in their community.
The process begins with nominations and ‘rally points’ from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9, with potential winners asked to offer ‘inspiring stories that illustrate how your community embodies the spirit of hockey’. The nomination story is work 80 per cent of the community’s total score, with another 20 per cent coming from rally points.
Moose Jaw will have some work to do in order to make up ground in the early going – the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre has 1,717 entries as of Thursday morning.
Rally points are award through submission of nomination stories (10), sharing on Twitter (5), adding photos or videos to your submission (3), adding a note to your submission (1) and reacting with emojis to stories photos and videos (1).
Judging will take place from Feb. 10 to Mar. 3, followed by the Top Four announcement on Mar. 14. A final round of voting will take place on Mar. 27 beginning at 12 p.m. and wrapping at 8:30 p.m. on Mar. 28.
The Kraft Hockeyville 2020 winner will be announced immediately after the final votes are tallied on Mar. 28.
Renous, New Brunswick won the 2019 Hockeyville and hosted a pre-season NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers on Sep. 18. The community – home to a population of around 700 – also received $250,000 for renovations to the Tom Donovan Arena, which will see the addition of a girls dressing room and improved accessibility.
For more information or to vote, check out https://www.krafthockeyville.ca/
