Nearing the end....
It has been a great weekend here at Choice Inline. Last year, we had 12 teams at this event, and at that time, we had to decide whether or not to cancel the event. Truthfully, the thought never even crossed my mind, as it is not only important for us to fulfill our commitments, but canceling an event sends a very bad message regarding our sport. The fruits of our labor were realized this weekend with 30 teams competing in a jam packed event. It was nice to see, and I believe we have found a home here at Choice.
This weekend, we featured some of the industry's most recognized names....Jason Muro, Mike Rosmini, Anthony "Vio" Violante, Ben Ellison, and Charli Yoder, but we also featured some programs for the very first time. It was great to meet Steve Hafele. Steve runs the Downingtown Cobras organization out of United Sports, and they were here in Squirts, PeeWees, and Bantams. Steve is trying to build the Cobras into an organization that is competitive in tournament play, and this weekend was some of his players first experience. We are looking forward to seeing the Cobras organization grow down the road.
As for the hockey this afternoon, we featured the PeeWee and Bantam divisions. The PeeWee division featured the Valken Vikings taking home the Gold in the Tier 2 Championship, while the Tour Roadrunners 99 capped off an impressive day cruising to the Tier 1 Championship.
In the Bantam division, the Cougars took home the Gold in the Tier 2 Championship. Currently underway is the Tier 1 Championship which features Vio's Tour Roadrunners 96' taking on Yoder's Hershey Typhoon. I am going to keep one eye on this game, while also keeping an eye on the Devils/Sabres game, which is currently tied 1-1. As I mentioned in a previous blog, George and I have a friendly wager on this one...while I was confident when I initially made the wager, after last nights debacle, I am not so sure...
I would like to send a very special thank you to Mike Stoever and his crazy but wonderful team, who have made this weekend one of the smoothest we have had...