By David F. Rooney
The Committee is collecting the names of everyone who has filed a story since Dec. 31 and will enter them all in a draw to be held at the end of January. The prize is two nights for two at the Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel and two tickets to the March 18 Canucks game against the San Jose Sharks.
“We want to boost our story numbers,” said Committee Chairman Gary McLaughlin. “We think this will help.”
Revelstoke currently has 252 stories and 329 photos supporting its bid to win the national competition. But to make it to the crucial next stage it must at least match the number of stories and photos submitted by people backing Hazelton’s bid: 533 stories and 646 images.
Asked why the contest does not encompass everyone who filed stories before Dec. 31, McLaughlin said, “We want to encourage more stories.”
“This doesn’t mean people who have already submitted a story are out of luck,” he said. “They can submit new — and different — stories in order to be included in the draw. It only takes 10 or 15 minutes to do that. And the result, if we beat Hazelton, means we’ll progress in the Kraft Hockeyville contest.”
The grand prize for the community crowned as Hockeyville 2010 is $100,000 to pay for arena upgrades, an NHL exhibition game in the winning community’s arena and big-time bragging rights. Hazelton actually doesn’t have an arena but the competition rules allow a community without an arena to compete just the same, as long as a nearby community has an arena with full seating capable of hosting an NHL game. It must also have or be close to an airport capable of handling a jet.
Some lucky person will win the Revelstoke Hockeyville Committee’s prize. But you can’t win if you don’t submit a story!
You can do that right now by going http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hockeyville/submit/bc/en/ and filing your Hockeyville story today!
All submissions must be accompanied by digital image such as a photo or drawing in JPEG format. If you do not have one please send an e-mail to drooney1@telus.net and The Revelstoke Current will send you one you can use. The final cut-off for all stories is Jan. 15.
In other news on the Hockeyville front, the Committee is building a website to support its bid. Currently under construction, it will be at www.revelstokehockeyville.com. Read The Current to find out when it becomes active.
The Current is gathering video comments from local residents in support of the community’s bid. You can see what some of your friends and neighbours have to say here: