Grateful And Thankful

After a night of well-needed sleep under a stack of blankets to warm up, it's time for some reflection on the 2026 Female World Sport School Challenge. This isn't going to be some autopsy on the event; rather, it's more of a showing of gratitude for allowing myself and UMFM to take part when both Balmoral Hall School and the Balmoral Hall Blazers could have opted to go with any radio station or have no radio broadcasts at all. As we said on the broadcasts, we are honoured to have been given the opportunity and we were privileged to bring the action to any and all who tuned into the broadcasts. That being said, allow me to say thanks a little more.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it's very clear that it takes an incredible team of people to pull off a tournament like the Female World Sport School Challenge. Balmoral Hall showed they are a close-knit team by banding together, finding solutions to problems, welcoming goofballs like me, and keeping the tournament rolling through four days of action. To the parents, the staff, and the students who volunteered in some capacity over the four days, you are the key to this tournament's success, and you deserve infinite thank-yous for your time and efforts. Thank you for everything!

To the players, staff, and coaches of the nine teams who brought boundless energy, incredible skills and talents, and unrelenting competitive spirits, thank you for the fantastic hockey all weekend long. Yes, the Winnipeg Ice may have gone home with the gold medals, but there was no shortage of amazing hockey played in each of the nine games we called. Beyond that, the abundance of talent shown at the Skills Competition was unforgettable, and we are excited to see where everyone lands, whether it be in hockey or beyond the rink. Thank you for making the hockey so great!

To Aaron, Chelsea, Bryan, Geneviève, Erin, Jennifer, and Jennifer Armstrong, thank you so much for allowing UMFM to be the voice of the tournament once again this year. We are always proud to be able to broadcast this tournament so that parents, families, friends, and fans can hear their favorite players and teams play, and we hope that we'll be a part of the tournament again next year and beyond. You guys did a phenomenal job in organizing and running the tournament, and I hope we were able to rise to the occasion with our broadcasts to meet the standard you all set! Thank you for your leadership!

To the many sponsors who supported this tournament, we are extremely grateful for your generosity! UMFM ran ads before, during, and after every game in order to recognize your efforts in supporting this tournament, and I hope the commercials we found and created for all the sponsors were as helpful as each business was in supporting this tournament. If you're reading this, please try to frequent this amazing group of businesses as they're putting women's hockey on the map in Manitoba! Thank you for your support!

Finally, I want to say thank you to all the parents, families, and fans who trekked to the Hockey For All Centre this weekend in the brutal cold to cheer on daughters, granddaughters, sisters, friends, and teams. From the moment they put skates on for the first time to the final whistle this weekend, you've been there to cheer them on, push them higher, give them comfort when things get bumpy, and celebrate all their successes. If you couldn't make it to the rink, my hope is that we did a good enough job describing the game via the UMFM broadcasts so that it felt like you were there watching. It goes without saying, but thank you for being their biggest fans!

In showing gratitude, I also want to say thanks to both Jason Pchajek and Eugene Pelland for throwing on a headset this weekend and providing great commentary. I called a number of games, but you guys elevated the broadcasts with your insights, expertise, and knowledge, and I will always be proud to sit next to you while calling a game. Thank you for your excellent broadcasting skills while making the games sound more intelligent and exciting than I ever could!

Another incredibly successful tournament is in the books with the Winnipeg Ice bringing home their second-straight gold medal. The Rink Hockey Academy are the silver medalists and the host Balmoral Hall Blazers are the bronze medalists with the Westman Wildcats falling just short at fourth-place. The Winnipeg Avros defeated the Pembina Valley Hawks in the fifth-place game, and the Yellowhead Chiefs defeated the Pilot Mound Buffaloes in the seventh-place game. The Interlake Lightning finished the tournament in ninth-place.

The Skills Competition saw Balmoral Hall's Brannagh Rae win the Fastest Skater event. The Avros had three players take home awards as Addilyn Nohlgren won the Accuracy Shooting event, defender Leah Claussen won the Hardest Shot event, and Cali Lavallee won the Breakaway Shootout event. The Ice saw defender Aliyah Texeira win the Sauce Passing event while goaltender Gina Plett was named the top netminder in the Breakaway Shootout event. Honestly, all the players who took part in these events were outstanding, and we saw some incredible performances that didn't win from players like Ivy Perkin, Rowyn Street, Joslyn Tetlock, and Kate Chuback.

With this being Balmoral Hall's first attempt at hosting, they've set a lofty standard to meet next season if they plan on hosting this tournament again. From the awesome volunteers to the talented players to the incredible action on the ice, this was an excellent event. I can only hope we'll be back again next year to see the fantastic hockey once more, so thank you to Balmoral Hall School and the Balmoral Hall Blazers for all the fun we had this year!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!