The Innisfail female atom Flyers are hosting the 2016 Female Atom Provincial Championships next March.
The news came via a live announcement in Red Deer on Dec. 15.
"We announced all of the hosts for the 35 provincial championship tournaments that we host throughout the month of March,î said Brad Lyon, senior manager of communications with Hockey Alberta. "Innisfail will be hosting the atom female provincial championships. Those games are scheduled for March 17 to 20, 2016.î
Ten atom teams from across the province, including Innisfail, will compete for the 2016 female atom provincial championship title. ATB is the new presenting sponsor for the event.
Teams in each of the nine zones in Alberta must qualify for provincials through a playdown process. As host, Innisfail has an automatic berth to the championships. The winning team is chosen as the zone representative and will join the host team to compete at the Hockey Alberta provincial championships.
The Innisfail Flyers female atom team was thrilled to receive the news.
"We're all very excited about the opportunity and looking forward to planning, hosting and welcoming other communities to Innisfail,î said Connie Holbein, team manager for the female atom Flyers.
Holbein noted the last time Innisfail hosted a provincial championship tournament was the peewee provincial championships about four or five years ago.
The female atom Flyers have been very successful so far this season she added, and hope to continue their winning ways to the provincial championships in March.
"We are at the top of our league with the Rocky Mountain female hockey league,î said Holbein. "We're in first place (out of 13 teams) and we're undefeated in league play. We've had one tie game out of the nine games we've played this season,î she added.
"The girls have been doing very well and coming together as a team. It's been a great year so far.î
Lyon said hockey operations staff from Hockey Alberta will work with each of the host sites and committees to finalize details and schedules in the coming months.
There will be two pools of five teams. Each pool will play round robin games from March 17 to 19 said Lyon. The top two teams in each pool will move onto the semi-finals the morning of March 20, with the two winners of the semi-finals set to play in the provincial championship final later that afternoon.
