More than 600 youth are descending on downtown’s Ice District this weekend for a yearly street-hockey tournament. The fourth-annual Ice District Classic 3-on-3 tourney, which is being put on by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, the Edmonton Oilers Alumni and BHE1 Sports, started Friday and runs through Sunday. More than 60 teams of 10 at every skill level from the under-5 through under-18 age categories play 25-minute games at Fan Park at Ice District on three 100-by-40-foot surfaces with full-sized boards, gates and netting. Nine runners and one goalie make up each team, all wearing full ball-hockey gear. Crystal Kaufman, the marketing and media manager for BHA1 Sports, said the teams are made up mostly by groups of friends. “Some people actually plan their holidays around us, make sure they’re staying in Edmonton, have a staycation here, and enjoy hockey as well,” Kaufman told CTV News Edmonton on Friday of the sold-out event. Also part of the weekend is Sunday’s Every Kid Deserves a Shot Community Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring several children’s activities, an appearance by Oilers mascot Hunter The Lynx, and a noon meet-and-greet session with Seattle Toorent forward Danielle Serdachny and Oilers alumnus Ben Scrivens. On-site services include food trucks, water stations and picnic tables. Spectators get in free and are encouraged to bring their own foldable chairs. Hours for the tournament are Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch
