Lethbridge hosts successful UCC

By Lethbridge Herald on January 1, 2025.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Rachel Bushfield attempts to defend against the University of Guelph Gryphons during University Challenge Cup action last weekend.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald 

The five-day University Challenge Cup ringette national championship that was hosted by the  University of Lethbridge Pronghorns was considered an overwhelming success.

“The tournament was very successful,” said Susan Stevenson, University of Lethbridge Pronghorns head coach and a Lethbridge UCC committee member.

There was lots of positive feedback coming from the teams and referees.

“I think the biggest thing that the teams really, really appreciated was that everything was held in one site,” said Stevenson.

“They were able to keep their equipment in the rooms and that’s a huge thing for these teams that stay in hotels, so they really appreciated that. And the refs really liked the fact that they had access to both sides of the arena, and that there was food for them and everything was very well organized for their schedules.”

Stevenson felt the tournament ran successfully because of factors such as schedules being organized, the strong communication between the UCC and host committees and participating teams getting involved.

“It was sort of a one-stop shop,” said Stevenson.

“You walk into the arena, (and) you get all your information (and) everybody’s there.”

Stevenson said the fan support was totally amazing.

“We’ve never seen so many fans at a ringette game before, so it was really fun to watch, and all the cheering from all the teams was exceptional,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson anticipated there were close to 1,000 spectators over the five days at Cavendish Farms Centre.

U of L failed to medal this year after doing so in the previous two UCCs.

“You go into a tournament like this and obviously you have high hopes,” said Stevenson.

“But (in) realizing the quality and skill of all the players coming in, we knew it was still going to be tough.”

U of L went undefeated through opening round, but the two losses and a tie in the second round eliminated them from medal contention.

The University of Calgary Dinos defeated  University of Ottawa 5-3 to capture the UCC on New Year’s Eve, while Northern Alberta took home the bronze medal with a 4-2 win over Western University.