What makes a good hockey tournament?

[nickerjones]

The team I run/play on/ pay for is hosting a tournament in OKC this weekend. I have pretty much had to do all the work myself , since my teammates are pretty much bums. My main goal when I started was 8 adult teams. Hockey is scarce around here but I figured I could plant the seeds and try to grow this into a big event. (The crappy thing is I did all this work and now cant play bc my injury)

I ended up getting 10 teams in 2 divisions. Now my fear is the divisions are way uneven. There are 4 states represented in this tournament so it makes it hard for me to know how the other teams matchup skill level.

My question for this thread is other than the hockey , what can you do to make this Adult tournament fun? I would love for the teams to go back home and brag about our tourney. We want to host another one in Feb/March and then this one again next Labor Day weekend.

Right now I planned a free cookout for the players . This includes free Burgers/dogs/ KEG of beer. We also have TVs hooked up to watch football. It is Oklahoma and OU players tomorrow, so this will be like a big tailgate.

Because funds limited us to just buying for the players. We also have a huge Mobile BBQ trucks coming out to sell food to anyone else who wants it.

As far as the tourney goes , We will have an All tourney team in each division.



What else do you guys think would make an Adult Tournament fun. Things we can implement with this tournament and future ones.

1. Hookers and Blow. There I said it , got it out of the way, and will consider it.

Thanks

[undercoverbrother]

try a draft system

[saskflames69]

My experience comes from minor hockey tournaments, but try raffling something off. Like a case of beer and a jersey or something along the lines of that.

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

try a draft system

I have tried to implement in league. People are resistant to change and also only want to play with friends etc. I would love to do that. However for a tournament it's out of the question. Teams from Dallas arent gonna drive 3 hours and not get to play with buddies. Right now we have 3 teams coming from 5+ hours away.


I like the raffle system, I will see what I can do . Maybe Raffle off a free stick?

I could always do a 50/50 but you never know how that's going to go over.

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by fotze

In the future when asking the question "What makes a good ________?" The answer is always booze.

We are supplying a Keg.. so what about changing the title to Besides Booze, What makes a good....... ?

[Ben_in_Canada]

Best tournament I've been to was in Latvia.
Where we stayed, we had the hotel, bar/resturant, bowling alley and attached arena in the one facility and we were given free range of the place.
Thirsty? get a beer. Want to bowl? Bowl. Want to skate/practice? Go for it. We abused the hell out of that privilage.
This may be out of your budget though.....

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by Ben_in_Canada

Best tournament I've been to was in Latvia.
Where we stayed, we had the hotel, bar/resturant, bowling alley and attached arena in the one facility and we were given free range of the place.
Thirsty? get a beer. Want to bowl? Bowl. Want to skate/practice? Go for it. We abused the hell out of that privilage.
This may be out of your budget though.....

Well... Im trying to build / promote hockey in Oklahoma. Maybe this would be possible in .... never. Maybe just playing the hockey and serving beer is enough. HA!

[Northendzone]

My thought would be try to avoid scheduling games early in the morning

[saskflames69]

How many sheets of ice do you have booked?

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

My thought would be try to avoid scheduling games early in the morning

9 am is the earliest

Originally Posted by saskflames69

How many sheets of ice do you have booked?

We only have 1 sheet of ice. We have 10 teams , its a 4 game guarantee. Starting at 10 tonight through tomorrow is pool play. Then Sunday is a single elim seeded tournament final.

[Boo Radley]

My dad's team use to run an annual hockey tournament.

A couple things that people really liked were:
- each team would receive a complementary case (or 2) of beer after each game.
- the organizers also had a "concession" on site where they would provide burgers and beer at cost. They typically held this in one of the rooms at the rink and players from all teams could mingle. Something like this may depend on the rink (i.e. if they have their own concessions)

Note sure about the amount of money you have but things like this went a long way.

[GrrlGoalie33]

Swag bags with things as simple as sock tape and a water bottle go over pretty well. Those are things all hockey players consistently need.

Also, work out a deal with your local hockey store for a discount on merchandise/skate sharpening. Also know where your goalies can go to get their skates sharpened.

I helped run a tourney earlier this year Nick, so message me if you want to ask questions. You know my phone is never far away!

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by Frankster

Swag bags with things as simple as sock tape and a water bottle go over pretty well. Those are things all hockey players consistently need.

Also, work out a deal with your local hockey store for a discount on merchandise/skate sharpening. Also know where your goalies can go to get their skates sharpened.

I helped run a tourney earlier this year Nick, so message me if you want to ask questions. You know my phone is never far away!

HAHAHHAHAA Local Hockey Store... Oklahoma.. HAHAHAHAH.

Our hockey stores are our two rink pro shops and they are .. well they leave a lot to be desired when I been to Calgary and been to Pro Hockey or Hockey Experts. Hell I even went to some bicycle store in YYC one time who had a nice hockey store upstairs.

None the less .. F me... Why didnt I think of swag bags. I think def next tournament in Feb/March. I mean they cant cost much and maybe I can get some company to front the money for whatever as long as it has their name on it.. Great idea Frankster.

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

HAHAHHAHAA Local Hockey Store... Oklahoma.. HAHAHAHAH.

Our hockey stores are our two rink pro shops and they are .. well they leave a lot to be desired when I been to Calgary and been to Pro Hockey or Hockey Experts. Hell I even went to some bicycle store in YYC one time who had a nice hockey store upstairs.

None the less .. F me... Why didnt I think of swag bags. I think def next tournament in Feb/March. I mean they cant cost much and maybe I can get some company to front the money for whatever as long as it has their name on it.. Great idea Frankster.

never mind. United Cycle is in Edmonton.

[Freeway]

Honestly? Your set-up sounds pretty good. See how the weekend goes and BE SURE to ask everyone for feedback on the experience afterwards so you can improve a few things here and there for next year.

[nickerjones]

Awesome now its just hoping the divisions are even.

[moncton golden flames]

i just played 4 games in 2 days last week, and some oranges or bananas betwen games or even periods would be a nice plus.

[ernie]

Watch out for the Hooters Team (springfield)! Don't let the pink fool ya they are dirty sons a bitches.

Nah just kidding. A lot of good guys on that team. A few of them will be on my team in September.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Whatever you do, don't ask the Barons to set up a tent and bring their mascot there. If they come anyways, shoot them on site.

Dirty Oiler scum.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Orange slices in the dressing room between periods. At least thats what we got in my day.