British Columbians are urged to help make Lumby Kraft Hockeyville.
The village east of Vernon wants to upgrade its Pat Duke Memorial Arena and made the top 10 finalists for Kraft Hockeyville 2016. It is the only B.C. town on the list.
“We need provincewide support,” said Angie Clowry, one of the campaign organizers in Lumby.
“We have help called in from communities across the province.”
The winner will receive an NHL pre-season game and $100,000 in arena upgrades. Second prize is $100,000 in arena upgrades, while the remaining eight arenas each will get $25,000 in arena upgrades.
Voting opens on March 13 at 6 a.m. and closes March 14 at 9 p.m.to decide on the two finalists.
When the voting opens, you can cast your ballot at http://khv2016.ca/
The Village of Lumby is helping spread the word about the two-day voting session.
“We want to get everyone involved,” said Mayor Kevin Acton.
“I have sent letters to all mayors in B.C. and we hope they will support small town B.C.”
If Lumby receives the funds, the goal is to ensure a proper change room at Pat Duke Memorial Arena for female hockey players.
“Their eight-foot-by-10-foot closet area that up to four teams may share at a time is not enough,” said Clowry.
“Creating a space for our girls who play hockey now and in the future is important as they are a strong and vital part of our teams. And more are signing up to play every year.”
The other top 10 communities are St. Laurent, Man., Martensville, Sask., Okotoks, Alta., St. Paul, Alta., Toronto, Ont., Brockville, Ont., Oromocto, N.B., Tatamagouche, N.S. and Saint-Isidore, Que.