Admission open for Piikani golf tournament

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on July 22, 2022.

The Piikani Nation is hosting a golf tournament at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort July 28 – 29, part of the 63rd annual Piikani Nation Celebration.

Event organizers Troy Crow Shoe and Joseph Yellow Horn have worked with Matt Barkway at Paradise Canyon to set up the tournament accepting teams of two with admission open to the public.

Prizes are based on entries along with a $10,000 hole-in-one prize sponsored by Chaparral Insurance.

The pair have been working in collaboration with the Powwow Committee, part of the Piikani Nation’s weekend celebration which includes other events like a rodeo, pancake breakfasts, slo-pitch, and stick game tournaments. Halted in previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, events like this will help re-ignite festivity within the community while including awareness for the southern Alberta region.

Kicking off the celebration, the golf tournament will start off with a scotch-play Thursday morning, in which players alternate shots, followed by individual stroke play on Friday.

Crow Shoe says the event is inclusive, with admission open to all, hoping to get communities out and enjoy the weather while playing a couple of rounds of golf.

“All the money that we get, it just gets paid back out into prize money for the tournament. It’s a cash tournament.”

Crow Shoe added it’s good to be together after having to stay apart in previous years.

“With the last two years, there hasn’t been any celebrations of this type within the First Nations. The Blood Tribe, this past weekend, just had their annual celebration and Powwow, that was a first time since COVID. So this, for the Piikani Nation, is a big deal.”

Admission is still open and those looking to register can email Crow Shoe at crowshoe21@gmail.com or phone 403-965-0006.

“We want people to come enjoy an opportunity playing a renowned course, a beautiful course, that we have in our area here,” said Crow Shoe. “You know, come golf with us for a couple days in Paradise.”