DIEPPE, NB – Hockey Canada’s Atlantic Centre of Excellence, in cooperation with the four Atlantic hockey branches is very pleased to announce that Dieppe, New Brunswick will serve as the host for the 2005 and 2006 Atlantic Challenge Cup.

“The City of Dieppe and the Dieppe/Memramcook Minor Hockey Association have a history of doing a great job hosting sporting events and we expect this year’s Atlantic Cup Event to excel,” offered Trevor Murphy, Manager of Hockey Operations with the Atlantic Centre of Excellence.  Murphy also commented that “the bar continues to be raised around this event in all areas. We are looking forward to another fantastic weekend of competition.”

“The Dieppe/Memramcook Minor Hockey Association is proud to host this event, president Francis Breau said. We have a very good organizing committee and teams will skate in some of the best facilities available. We look forward to hosting Atlantic Canada’s best young players for the next two years.”

The Atlantic Challenge Cup is the “Best of the Best” competition for Atlantic Canada’s top Under 15 and Under 18 Female, as well as the top Under 15 Male and Under 16 Male Hockey Players.  Provincial Teams for New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, in each of the age categories previously mentioned, will compete in the round robin event to be played Thanksgiving weekend October 7-10, 2005.   A total of 16 teams, in four age divisions, will represent their province with pride and compete for the title of Atlantic Champions. 

The Atlantic Challenge Cup is the culmination of the Program of Excellence in each of the aforementioned provinces. The Program of Excellence at the provincial level has provided the players and staff with an opportunity to develop, learn and challenge themselves as they strive for excellence.  In most cases, the provincial development process has begun in April and will now conclude with the Atlantic Challenge Cup. The players and staff have been training and preparing for the opportunity to challenge themselves against their counterparts from the other Atlantic Provinces. The selected individuals will have the chance to do this, as well as to continue their development through this prestigious experience. 

Over 500 players, coaches, trainers, officials and administrators will converge upon Dieppe for the Atlantic Challenge Cup and they will all benefit from this unique event which is the pinnacle of Minor Hockey in Atlantic Canada.

The Atlantic Challenge Cup has been in existence since 1996 when the event was first hosted in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Bathurst area has played host to this prestigious event three consecutive years. The following lists the annual host communities:

• 1996 Sydney, NS
• 1997 Sydney, NS
• 1998 Corner Brook, NL
• 1999 Sydney, NS
• 2000 Sydney, NS
• 2001 Saint John, NB
• 2002 Bathurst/Campbellton, NB
• 2003 Bathurst, NB
• 2004 Bathurst, NB
• 2005 Dieppe, NB

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Trevor Murphy
Manager, Hockey Operations
Hockey Canada's Atlantic Centre of Excellence
(506) 642-0491
[email protected]

Luc Richard
Organzing Committee
(506) 854-9171