Pond hockey added to Hot Air Affair

Talk about it

A pond hockey tournament will be part of the 2009 Hudson Hot Air Affair set for Feb. 6-8.

The St. Croix County Little League is sponsoring the 10-rink, three-on-three affair that will be held on the St. Croix River just north of the Lakefront Park beach.

The Hudson City Council authorized the games Monday night.

Little League representative Wes Sanda explained that the organization is sponsoring the tournament to raise funds to make a return trip to the Wisconsin Little League state tournament.

Sanda was one of the coaches of the team of 10-year-olds from Hudson that won a state title last summer.

In an e-mail to Police Chief Marty Jensen inquiring about the city approvals that might be needed for the pond hockey tournament, Sanda said the event will be open to both adults and youths.

He said he was expecting most of the participants to come through the Hudson Hockey Association.

The Little League initially was planning to hold the tournament on the bay on the north side of the Interstate 94 interchange.

When Sanda approached the council’s Public Safety Committee with that plan, Alderperson Randy Morrissette II recommended moving the rinks to the north side of Lakefront Park.

Morrissette said the ice was thick enough there, too, and that parking was available nearby. People would have to walk a long distance to get to rinks next to I-94, he said.

Monday night, Mayor Dean Knudson cautioned that the ice off the north end of Lakefront Park might not be thick enough to hold a tournament on another year.

He noted that there’s a current nearby that flows under the dike road bridge.

In his e-mail to Jensen, Sanda said Little League volunteers would put up a barrier fence to keep event attendees from wandering off toward unsafe ice.

Sanda said in a phone call Tuesday morning that planning for the tournament is not yet completed. He was expecting a committee to establish the entry fee for the tournament that night.

Persons interested in entering a team in the tournament may call Sanda at (612) 229-0577 or send him an e-mail at thesandas@hotmail.com.

He said the Little League’s Web site, scclittleleague.org, would have information on the tournament later in the week.

You can also watch the Star-Observer’s Web site, www.hudsonstarobserver.com, for more on the tournament.

Tags: news, hudson, hot, air, affair, pond, hockey