The 1st annual Oakville Rangers Winter Classic Tournament presented by BarDown is in the books, and the numbers are impressive:
- 301 teams from U9 to U16; from BB to AAA totalling 28 divisions.
- 672 games.
- Over 100 teams in hotels.
- Approximately 14,000 visitors to Oakville.
- 6,100 BarDown tourney hats were given to players and coaches.
- Over 180 volunteers.
By the numbers, we believe we are the biggest single-weekend tournament in Canada. But numbers only tell one small part of the story. Tournaments are for team bonding, making memories and building/ enhancing friendships. By those measures, the tournament was even more successful:
- The Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe, Hart, Norris, Vezina and Ted Lindsay trophies all at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, along with the spectacular Hockey Hall of Fame exhibits.
- The Hockey Festival Village at Sixteen Mile with ten interactive games + vendors, and exhibitors.
- The amazing Oakville Blades game (and last seconds victory) was complete with a performance from the band 5 Hole.
- Restaurants and fast-food locations were jammed with happy/excited teams.
As well we combined winning with being good hosts. Out of 28 divisions, Oakville teams were in 12 finals, and we won 8 Championships. Congratulations to all Champions and Finalists!
A tournament of any size can’t happen without a ton of people doing a ton of great work, so in no particular order, we want to thank the following dedicated folks who helped make these amazing four days possible:
- The Oakville Rangers U18 players, parents and coaches who volunteered. Many of you stepped up well beyond what was
- expected when you realized we needed help. Thank you!
- The Oakville Rangers Office Staff made the details happen behind the scenes.
- The Town of Oakville and all the arena leadership and staff. True professionals who received rave reviews from anyone who interacted with them. A very positive, solution-oriented group that kept us on or ahead of schedule for 99% of the tournament.
- Visit Oakville, which promotes Oakville as a tourism destination.
- Oakville’s other major ice users – the Oakville Hornets, Skate Oakville, Oakville Speed Skating Club and the Rangers House League programming all significantly disrupted their schedules to enable this tournament to happen.
- The Oakville Referee Association and all the referees from around southwestern Ontario covered the games. A ridiculously tall order.
- Ditto for timekeepers, many of whom pulled 8+ hour shifts.
- Former players who returned home from post-secondary school to ref and/or time-keep.
- The Town of Milton, The City of Burlington, The Wave and Canlan Oakville all provided ice when it was clear we needed more.
- Oakville Ranger coach and parent Fab DeRango and his 3 Shopper’s Drug Mart locations (Dundas & 3rd Line, Dundas & Newagawa and Headon Plaza Burlington) who donated granola bars for the referees (despite them never doing him many favours!)
- The Ranger ice schedulers and Town of Oakville ice schedulers managed to schedule this ever-changing monstrosity.
- Puckz Pub, Corbett’s Source for Sports, BarDown, the Oakville Blades, King Events, Top Shot Interactive, GameSheet Inc.,
Most of all, we want to thank all the teams for coming. Without you making the decision to enter your team, the tournament would have been nothing. We learned a lot in Year 1, and we promise to be even better next year. To that end, a survey will be going out to all participants to get feedback and suggestions to improve the event for next year. Hope to see you then – January 18-21, 2024. Until then, good luck in the playoffs.
Is your child missing out on the fun and friendships of the great Canadian game? Oakville Rangers for boys and Oakville Hornets for girls offer the chance to play at any level. Just click Rangers or Hornets to find out more.