Connecticut Polar Bears 24th Annual Holiday Tournament
December 27th-30th, 2008

Please Note that Registration for the 2008 tournament will not be open until June, 2008.

The Connecticut Polar Bears cordially invite your teams to participate in the 24th Annual Polar Bears Girls' Ice Hockey Holiday Tournament, to be held December 27 to December 30, 2008.

All teams are guaranteed four games; in the heavily subscribed divisions teams may play six games. 

We are expecting more than 250 teams to participate. Over the past several years, the strongest teams from across the United States and Canada have participated. Given the size of the tournament and the strength of the field, every major US college program and many Canadian colleges will be represented at the tournament. Most college coaches designate this tournament as a primary recruiting site. In addition, coaches from many of the eastern prep schools recruit here.
 

The tournament will be sanctioned by USA Hockey and will have five age levels playing in the following divisions:

• 19U AA; 19U A; 19U B (Canadian Intermediate Teams are Eligible)

• 17U AA; 17U A; 17U B

• 14U AA; 14U A; 14U B

• 12U AA; 12U A; 12U B 

• 10U AA; 10U A; 10U B

Even though we have increased the size of the field, we expect the tournament to fill by 
November 1st, 2008.  Accordingly, please file all registration materials and hotel bookings as early as possible.
 

Mail payment : Your check for $1200.00 US ($1100.00 US for Canadian Teams) must be received for application to be valid, all checks must be received within 5 working days.
 

Checks payable to "Connecticut Polar Bears"
Mail to: Connecticut Polar Bears
Attn: Maurice T. FitzMaurice
Reid and Riege, P.C.
One Financial Plaza, 21st fl.
Hartford, CT  06103

The tournament Committee retains full discretion to Accept/Reject any applications.

For additional information please call Maurice FitzMaurice or Barbara Mildren at (860) 278-1150

or e-mail Maurice FitzMaurice at fitz@ctpolarbears.com.

Connecticut Polar Bears To Host Nation’s Largest Girls’ – And Youth – Hockey Event
More Than 3,700 Players From Across North America To Participate In Annual Holiday Tourney, Dec. 27-30

GREATER NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Beginning today and lasting through Sunday, Dec. 30, the entire state will play host to the 23rd Annual Connecticut Polar Bears Holiday Tournament, the nation’s largest youth invitational ice hockey tournament.

The girls’ tournament will take place at 11 locations throughout Connecticut and will include more than 3,700 female players, ages 8-19. Up to 225 teams from 22 states across America and three Canadian provinces – including squads from as far away as Alaska – will compete in approximately 500 games that will take place over the four days. More than 50 local hotels will be used to house the teams, parents and fans during their stay.

"The Connecticut Polar Bears are pleased again to be hosting the best girls’ hockey teams from across the United States and Canada," said Tournament Director Maurice FitzMaurice. "Players from Alaska and California in the West, as well as Prince Edward Island and Florida in the East, will all be participating. Female ice hockey is rapidly growing at both the youth and college levels, even in parts of the country which traditionally are not known for ice sports. When we started this event 23 years ago, there were only four teams in our tournament."

The tournament offers five age divisions (19-and-Under, 17-and-Under, 14-and-Under, 12-and-Under, and 10-and-Under) and three levels of abilities for most of the divisions (AA, A and B). The 11 local ice rinks hosting the tournament are as follows: Bolton Ice Palace (Bolton, Conn.), Choate School (Wallingford, Conn.), Cromwell (Cromwell, Conn.), Loomis/Chaffee School (Windsor, Conn.), Newington (Newington, Conn.), Shelton (Shelton, Conn.), South Windsor Arena, (South Windsor, Conn.), Taft School Rinks, (Watertown, Conn.), Trinity College Rink (Hartford, Conn.), University of Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.) and Yale-Ingalls Rink (New Haven, Conn.).

For a complete schedule of games or more information, please visit www.ctpolarbears.com. The tournament is sanctioned by USA Hockey, the National Governing Body for the sport of hockey in the United States headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.

USA Hockey’s Girls’/Women’s Section registration continues to grow by at least six percent each year. The 2006-07 season saw more than 57,000 registered female players in the U.S., compared to just over 39,000 in the 2000-01 season.

"The number of opportunities for girls’ hockey grows each year as more high schools and colleges offer women’s hockey programs and as the number of quality invitational tournaments increase," said Rae Briggle, USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director, Member Services. "The Connecticut Polar Bears’ annual Christmas Tournament is an outstanding example of girls’ hockey at its best."