ALBERNI VALLEY BIDS FOR RBC CUP!!

WOW, doesn't get any bigger than this folks!

For Immediate Release:

Alberni Makes Bid For 2012 RBC Cup

The Alberni Valley has submitted a bid to host the 2012 RBC Cup which is the National Junior A Hockey Championship. The local Bid committee comprised of representatives of the highly successful World Under 17 group, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs organization and other community volunteers worked diligently to prepare a strong bid for our community to host this prestigious event.

Bid Chair Tom McEvay commented, “we have such amazing people in our community it wasn’t difficult to assemble a great bid team and then gather support from all facets of our community. The document is 65 pages long and covers a wide spectrum of variables that Hockey Canada requires us to address. We are confident we will receive serious consideration from all of the organizations who vet the process.”

That process starts with the BC Hockey League who must decide which bid from within their league will be forwarded to BC Hockey in January. BC Hockey will then decide if they support this bid and if they do then they forward it to Hockey Canada in late January. Hockey Canada will then proceed with a thorough evaluation of all bids from across the country. This process may include short listed bid committees being invited to send representatives to Calgary to do a personal presentation in March or April. The final decision for the 2012 RBC will be made at the Hockey Canada AGM in May.

Speaking on behalf of the Bulldogs organization President Andy Oakes stated their support for this bid. “The Bulldogs are a full partner in this bid and we sincerely appreciate the willingness of so many people from the Alberni Valley to step forward to work on the bid. Quite frankly we are amazed at this community and the ability of people to rally support and get the job done. We are proud to be a part of the Alberni Valley and we would like nothing more that to bring the RBC event to this community and then to win a National title for Port Alberni on home turf.”

The RBC Cup is a five team tournament that brings together the Junior A champions from four regions in Canada plus the host team for a 9 day event. These include the winners of the playoffs of BC/Alberta , Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario/Quebec and the Maritime provinces. The host team gets an automatic berth to round out the five teams. The teams play a round robin format before moving to semi finals and then the final. The RBC Cup is 13 games usually all played at one site. In 2012 the event is scheduled for April 30 – May 8.

McEvay added, “We felt the timing was right to bid on this event. We can build on the reputation, success and infrastructure we have from the U 17 event and we can give the Bulldogs the opportunity to build on the progress they have made in again becoming one of the top Junior A programs in the country. Some people may say that the economic challenges facing our community make this the wrong time to bid. I know I speak for our committee and many others when I say that this is another reason why we need to pursue these type of opportunities. There will be hurdles to overcome but that is what the Alberni Valley does best. We know we can host the best ever RBC Cup and we hope to have the chance to do so in 2012.”

For more information contact: Tom McEvay Bid Chair at 250-723-3744 or email tmcevay@sd70.bc.ca