Minneapolis is currently on the icy stage for the 19th annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, unfolding over the now-frozen Lake Nokomis. This frosty competitive spectacle draws thousands of players from near and far, with teams from all over the U.S., and as far-flung as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The tournament is a monumental exercise in logistics that saw 24 rinks crafted in a swift 48 hours, thanks to the concerted effort led by T-Rex Rinks, setting the scene for an estimated 300 teams to duke it out for chilly supremacy.
The first weekend of play is set to face the true Minnesotan test, with the mercury teetering around the zero mark – "It's just absolutely black, perfect ice, as you'd imagine with a really fast freeze and no snow," tournament commissioner Jim Dahline told CBS News Minnesota. After an unseasonably warm December, the cold snap that took hold of Minnesota for the past weeks proved a blessing in disguise; or, as event manager Jesse Delorit expressed in slightly less grandiose terms to KARE 11, "This vortex came down and blessed us with a couple of weeks of below-zero weather, and we couldn't be happier." Delorit’s relief was palpable, given the event's last-minute approval by the City of Minneapolis threw organizers into a tailspin of preparation.
Apart from the brimming pride of victory against challenging opponents and elements, the first weekend warriors have their eyes set on the lustrous Silver Scoop, while the victors during the following weekend will have their triumphant snapshot with the coveted Golden Shovel. These tangible tokens of victory beside, the champions' names are to be etched for posterity, a tradition that no doubt stokes the competitive flames.
While players scrape and scramble across the ice, hundreds of spectators are bundling up and bearing the freeze to cheer on. Many of them, according to tournament officials, travel from states beyond the frosty embrace of Minnesota. New to the event this year is an assortment of vendors including, Red Bull, which brought a taste of warmer times with a mini-golf installation. Those eager for a piece of the action but not quite on skates are invited to volunteer — as referees or in other capacities – with onsite training provided for the uninformed yet eager, a tidbit revealed by CBS News Minnesota.
The event, whose skates will grace the ice through January 28, takes a brief hiatus for preparation and, presumably, a collective catching of breath on January 22 and 23.
