CALGARY, ALBERTA – The city of Sault Ste. Marie, ON prepares to host the top midget hockey teams in Canada, at Canada’s 2003 National Midget Hockey Championship, the Air Canada Cup, which runs from April21-27, 2003. The 2003 Air Canada Cup marks the 25th anniversary of the National Midget Hockey Championship.

Five regional Air Canada Cup play downs qualified five of the teams for this year’s Air Canada Cup National Championship, with Sault Ste. Marie qualifying as the host team.

Teams competing at the 2003 Air Canada Cup are:

• Calgary (AB) Northstars, representing the Pacific Region
• Collège Antoine-Girouard (QC) Gaulois, representing the Québec Region
• Sault Ste. Marie (ON) North Stars, as the Host Team
• St. John’s (NF) Maple Leafs, representing the Atlantic Region
• Waterloo (ON) Wolves, representing the Central Region
• Yorkton (SK) Harvest, representing the Western Region

The 2003 Air Canada Cup opens on April 21st, with three games scheduled. The action begins with Team Quebec(Collège Antoine-Girouard) facing Team Pacific (Calgary) at noon (ET), followed at 3:30 pm (ET) by Team West(Yorkton) vs. Team Atlantic (St. John’s) and at 8pm (ET) by Team Central (Waterloo) against the Host Team(Sault Ste. Marie). Opening ceremonies will be held at 7:30 pm.

All games at the 2003 Air Canada Cup will be played at the Sault Memorial Gardens. Tickets are available on-site at the Gardens or by calling 705-759-5251.

Media accreditation for the 2003 Air Canada Cup is available by contacting Host Committee Media Chair, Alex Mitchell at 705-945-8023 or 705-759-3030, ext. 236.

The Air Canada Cup championship game will be broadcast live on TSN/RDS, the official broadcaster of the Canadian Hockey Association, on April 27, 2003 at noon (ET).

Past players over the 25 year history of the Air Canada Cup have included 2002 Olympic gold medalists Simon Gagné (1998), Al MacInnis (1979), Michael Peca (1990), Joe Sakic (1986) and Steve Yzerman (1980), 2002National Junior Team member Joffrey Lupul (2000), and notable NHL-ers such as Daniel Brière (1994), Ron Francis (1980), Olaf Kolzig (1987), Scott Mellanby (1983), Derek Morris (1995) and Patrick Roy (1982).