'We need more rinks': Indigenous hockey tournament to welcome 258 teams to Edmonton this weekend

Players take part in the Native Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships on April 4, 2024. (Marek Tkach/CTV News Edmonton)

More than 40 First Nations are hitting the ice this week for the 31st annual Native Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships.

Organizers say the tournament has grown so rapidly over the last few years that finding enough ice time for everyone has become a challenge.

Jessica Goodrunning is watching her two sons represent Sunchild First Nation.

"I looked forward to this tournament every year," she said. "It's exciting and I can only imagine how the kids feel."

"It's gotten really big over the past couple years. It definitely made me see how committed we are as indigenous people," Roddy Whitequills of Kainai First Nation said.

Eleven different rinks in Edmonton will host 258 teams from 45 First Nations over the course of the tournament.

"We need more rinks because we don't have enough," Clyde Goodswimmer, president of Native Hockey Alberta, told CTV News Edmonton. "The city can't supply enough to host all of us."

Goodswimmer says nobody was left out this year, but Sunday's slate of championship games will be taking place concurrently rather than staggered like previous years.

"We try to accommodate all the players and all the athletes," he said "I believe there's close to 4,000 or 5,000 coaches and players that are involved, so it's pretty massive."

Kenyin Bigchild from O’Chiese First Nation near Rocky Mountain House is in his 11th year playing in the tournament..

"When I was younger, it didn’t seem like such a big thing, but as I grew up and started noticing more, everybody comes from everywhere, there’s all age groups," he said. "There’s also lots of new Métis players, so we're getting more of those every year."

The tournament will play out through 630 games over four days, with the action concluding on Sunday.