Hockey action will be heating up at local rinks this weekend, as the annual Winter Chill tournament comes to town.
The event, hosted by the Flamborough Girls Hockey Association, has been running since 2013 and has become a huge event, says the league’s vice-president of competitive hockey, Jason Bonneville.
“The first year we had that tournament was the very first year that the Harry Howell twin pad was built and operational, which was January 2013,” Bonneville told FlamboroughToday.
Back then, the event drew 40 teams; this year’s tournament, sanctioned by the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, will feature 82 teams from across the province and Buffalo. Players will compete in divisions from U11 through U22 and Senior A.
“It’s good to see girls’ hockey is alive and kicking and very competitive,” said Bonneville, noting that 350 kids and their families will be in town this weekend, boosting area businesses as they travel to half a dozen local arenas for games. This year, they’ll be playing at Harry Howell, Carlisle, Beverly in Flamborough, and JL Grightmire and Olympic arenas in Dundas. Some Friday games will be held at Morgan Firestone in Ancaster.
The FGHA board of 15, along with parent volunteers, manage various aspects of the tournament such as lining up sponsors, managing vendors and other tasks. The lion’s share of the administration has been turned over to Gina Gibson Tournament Services (GGTS), which looks after duties such as scheduling, the rosters, advertising, collecting fees, timekeeping, standing, medals and arranging convenors for each site.
The arrangement is a good fit, says Bonneville. “It takes so much pressure off, because everyone thinks the tournament just happens, but starting from July or August, we plan this. And there's various meetings and strategies put in place. And so for for us to have this lady help us, it's tremendous.”
Bonneville notes that the growth of girls’ hockey locally goes beyond the Winter Chill weekend. He says when his daughter Jessica started playing Novice (U9) in 2010, the FGHA had 155 players; the number in 2024 was 370 players.
“In 2010 we had two rep teams, now we have 11 rep teams,” he said. “We also have nine house league teams, so 20 teams in total.”
Bonneville coached Jessica - who is now studying nursing at Queen’s University - from Novice right through to her U18 year. After she aged out of the league, he worked to expand the competitive program to higher levels; the U22 division was created to allow players to continue to compete through their university years.
“I've coached the U22 A team – this my fourth year,” explained Bonneville. “So when the girls aged out of U22A, they still wanted to play competitive. So we put together a women's Senior A team.”
The Senior A women play in a loop that includes Hamilton, Guelph, Cambridge, Oakville and Brantford, and have a chance to go to provincials, added Bonneville. “They're pretty excited to be in their mid-, late 20s, and, you know, starting their families and still being able to play once-a-week, competitive hockey.”
And they’ll be among the teams playing at Winter Chill. The games start Friday and run all day Saturday, with the playoff rounds slated for Sunday. In addition to exciting competitive hockey, Bonneville says, the U7 and U9 teams will play an inter-squad scrimmage. There will also be appearances by mascots from local teams, including the North Wentworth Gryphons, and a raffle table will be running all weekend. All games are open to the public, free of charge.
For more information on Winter Chill, including the game schedule, visit the FGHA website or the tournament page.
