The 31st annual Toronto Leaside Girls' Hockey Tournament is set for March 12 to 14 and is bigger than ever.
"Last year we had 60 teams and this year we have 90 teams," said Andrew Smyth, tournament director, adding teams are coming from as far away as Detroit, Ottawa, North Bay and the Thousand Islands area. Games are being played out of Leaside Memorial Arena along with 12 other arenas including Scarborough's Malvern, Agincourt, Commander, Centre Ice Sports and Centennial."Because of the size of the tournament we had to schedule 360 hours of ice time," Symth said.Players range from novice level of seven and eight year olds up to 2A senior women's competitive league games."They (2A level) are our big draw," Smyth said, adding their final game is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. on Sunday at Leaside arena, at 1073 Millwood Rd.The public is also invited to visit with former Olympian Vicky Sunohara who will be signing autographs at Leaside arena on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a silent auction with one of the prizes being a signed Team Canada Jersey from this year's women's Olympic team as well as one from the U.S. team. This year's woman's Olympic gold medal win in Vancouver further added to the success of girl's hockey."It's very popular," Smyth said. "Leaside now has more than 900 female players."Admission is free to the tournament. For more information about the 31st annual Toronto Leaside Girls' Hockey Tournament including arena locations and schedules, check their website at www.leasidegirlshockey.org and click on tournament on the right.