Yukon Native Hockey Tournament marks 35 years

The Yukon Native Hockey Tournament, the largest hockey tournament in the Yukon, celebrates its 35th anniversary this weekend in Whitehorse.

Forty-two teams and more than 600 players from across Yukon, Northwest Territories and British Columbia, as well as their families and friends, have poured into the city.

Jeanie Dendys, vice-president of the Yukon Indian Hockey Association which organizes the tournament, said the weekend is as much about seeing old friends as it is about playing hockey.

"It is a reunion of sorts and it gives us an opportunity to just visit with each other, celebrate together aboriginal sport, and watch our families and all the old rivalries come out, nation to nation," she said. "It's just great."

Organizers say tournament interest seems to have grown since the elimination of the beer garden several years ago, making it a more family-friendly affair.

"Aboriginal sport has grown so much in the Yukon, Dendys said.

"I think one of the original goals was to see our aboriginal players on the ice and not just spectators and we've recognized that goal in the last 35 years. It just shows this year, with the tournament we have 42 teams and we've had to turn teams away."

The tournament runs all weekend at both the Canada Games Centre and Takhini Arena, with the finals set for Sunday afternoon.