OXBOW - The community of Oxbow has been working hard to win this year's edition of the Kraft Hockeyville competition.
The Oxbow Arena rally page was sixth in points mid-February among all of the entries in Canada. The deadline to support their rally page is Feb. 18.
The judging period will run from Feb. 19 to March 9, and the top four communities will be announced March 9. Voting runs from the morning of March 29 to the afternoon of March 30, and the winner will be announced that day.
The winning community will receive $250,000 in arena upgrades and will host an NHL preseason game in 2024. The other three communities will each receive $25,000 in arena upgrades.
A community's score comes from two categories. The strength of the nomination will account for 80 per cent of the total score. The remaining 20 per cent will be from the total rally points.
A bid receives 10 points for a written or video essay nomination, three points for a supporting photo of the area, and one point each for a supporting note for the arena or a reaction with emojis to nominated stories and videos.
The Oxbow Arena page, as of Friday morning, had 42 stories, 100 photos 30 notes that offer memories about the venue and talk about how much the arena means to the community.
Margaret Shier, a 94-year-old woman and a lifelong resident of Oxbow, recorded a video to support Oxbow's bid.
She recalled that when her son was in Grade 1, the ice surface for the rink was flooded for the first time. He came running home from school to tell her that he could skate with the older players.
"Dinner was never the same after that. Just eat and run," she said.
All three of her grandsons played for the Oxbow Huskies at the same time, and now it's the next generation of her family playing hockey.
"I've gone to many, many games here. It's a great place and a town … should never be without one [an arena]. It's a wonderful place for kids to learn how to get along with each other and how to meet the public with a smile."
Money would be used for a new ice plant, which was installed in the 1980s. The town spent nearly $50,000 to get it up and running this year.
To view Oxbow's bid, or to support their effort through a story, photo or note, please visit the Oxbow Arena page on the Kraft Hockeyville website.
