Two Surrey hockey arenas will be busy during another Wickfest, a four-day female tournament starting Thursday, Feb. 1.
Eighty teams from across North America are here for the annual Wickfest, officially known as Canadian Tire Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival, first held in Surrey in 2018.
This year, games are played at North Surrey Sport and Ice Complex and Fleetwood’s Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex.
With family-friendly events and activities, WickFest provides a platform to spotlight and develop female hockey players and inspire young girls to take up the sport.
The tournament name salutes Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser, five-time Olympic gold medalist and event founder.
“We’re looking forward to another great event in Surrey and thank the City for their ongoing support and for providing such world-class facilities,” Wickenheiser is quoted in a City of Surrey press release.
“Our goal is to inspire and see these young athletes grow not only as players but as young people with the understanding of what it takes to become truly exceptional hockey players.”
With the new PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) now launched in six North American cities, including Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, Wickfest participants will be inspired to play pro one day, according to Nicole Tebbutt, tournament project manager.
“It goes back to what we’ve always said, which is, ‘If you can see it, you can be it,’ so for these girls, having something to strive for beyond university play is hugely impactful,” Tebbutt said.
“And it also makes an impact in terms of the general public, because really the only other time that people have been able to watch women’s hockey is during the Olympics, pretty much. So if you have something that’s on several times a week and it’s an option for you to watch (on television), whether it be male, female, old or young, you have the chance to experience it and actually appreciate the women’s game.”
In Surrey, Wickfest participants range in age from eight to 18 this year, and all profits go to JumpStart and Right to Play organizations.
The 2024 tournament is sold-out, with all team spots filled.
“We tend to have two-and-a-half times the number of applications that we can accept, to be part of the tournament, which a lot of people know about now,” said Tebbutt.
The first WickFest was held in 2010 in Burnaby, where 47 teams participated, and the event is also held in Calgary, in the fall.
In February it’s Surrey’s turn, with a return to play here in 2023.
“Last year was a celebration, not only for coming out of COVID gathering restructions but also the ability for teams to travel,” Tebbutt noted.
“The size of our tournament, it’s actually exactly the same as last year,” she added. “The only difference this year is that we don’t have a U21 division, and the only reason we had that division last year is because we had the ice time. We have the same number of teams this year, but more of them in the younger age divisions.”
This year’s festival will showcase Emma Misak (the Surrey breakdancer who competed in the Pan Am Games and is preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris), BeaYOUtiful Foundation and a Vancouver Canucks shooting setup and booth. National team veteran Meghan Agosta will be at Wickfest on Friday morning (Feb. 2) for a 10 a.m. talk and 11:30 on-ice clinic. Check wickfest.com for details.
Tebbutt revealed that the Wickfest team has expansion plans in Milton, Ontario, this April.
“It will be a limited range of teams there, much smaller than what we’re doing in Surrey, which is what we like to do when we first enter a market,” she explained. “Like, our first year in Surrey, I think we had somewhere around 47 teams, just to test the market, make sure it runs smoothly before we make it a large tournament.”
Surrey Wickfest is planned in partnership with the City of Surrey, Surrey Falcons, Discover Surrey and Surrey Hotel and Motel Association.