Penticton and the South Okanagan Events Centre is hosting the Male U15 Provincial Camp May 11-14.
A total of 160 players were invited based on their performance at the regional camps. This camp is the first step in BC Hockey’s Program of Excellence. Select players may be invited to the Male U16 Provincial Camp July 11-16, 2017 in Shawnigan Lake. The Male U16 Program of Excellence holds regional camps in the spring with players then attending the BC Cup in Salmon Arm April 20-23.
Penticton has players competing in the camp. Penticton Minor Hockey Association product Kai Espenhain is on Team Black, Ben LeFranc of the Okanagan Hockey Academy is on Team Blue, Levi Carter of PMHA is on Team Blue, Spencer Davis of OHA is on Team Grey, South Okanagan’s Kaden Zakall is on Team Grey, South Okanagan’s Crae Dawson of Oliver is on Team Yellow.
Sunday’s schedule will be based on the standings from round robin play.
For live action from the 2017 Male U15 Provincial Cup, follow along on the BC Hockey mobile app available for both Android and Apple.
The BC Hockey Male Program of Excellence was introduced in 1980 with the mandate to systematically identify and train the province’s elite-level players for high performance hockey events. The overall objective is to increase the chances of athletes from BC to compete provincially, regionally, nationally and internationally with the ultimate goal of being selected to Hockey Canada’s National Junior or National Senior Team.
BC Hockey also announced the schedule and rosters for the 2017 Female U18 Invitational Selection Camp at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena in Lake Cowichan from May 17 – 21, 2017. The players were selected based on their performance with their club teams during the 2016-2017 season.
The Okanagan Hockey Academy has a group of girls competing in the camp with Andi Main (Penticton), Mikayla Capelle (Dawson Creek), Tori Butler (North Saanich), Ashlee Barner (Penticton), Anna MacCara (Penticton), Jaise Skinner (Penticton), Sophie Lalor (Penticton), Brekell Otto (Kelowna), Alison Waterhouse (Williams Lake), Kiki Linders (Delta) and Charlotte Stanwood (West Vancouver).
The camp will feature a very demanding schedule, pushing players through games, practices, off-ice technical training and fitness testing. Players will compete in an elite, challenging environment for a possible invitation to the U18 Provincial Camp, July 13 – 16 in Shawnigan Lake. Ultimately, players will be selected for Team BC, which will participate in the 2017 Women’s U18 National Championship in Quebec City this fall.
BC Hockey’s Female Program of Excellence was established to identify and train athletes and team personnel for possible participation at provincial, national and international events. BC Hockey’s Female U18 level is the third and final stage of the Program of Excellence Program. It is an opportunity for the top players in the province to train and compete at an elite level and is meant to introduce players to the beginning of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.