Six weeks and counting remain until the National Midget Championship gets underway in Red Deer! Reaching the TELUS Cup is the crowning achievement for Midget players from coast to coast, and very few get the chance to hoist the trophy.

As far as preparing for the event, Marv Seibel, chair of the host committee, says that the host committee is very pleased with the progress so far.

“Everything is right on track and everyone is remaining very positive,” Seibel says. “We’re very excited for what should be a great event.”

As the tournament draws closer, Seibel anticipates everything will come together extremely well. He predicts that the 2007 TELUS Cup will be a huge success and will be an experience that everyone will remember.

As for raising awareness for the TELUS Cup within the community, Seibel says promotion of the event has been underway for quite a while, but as the tournament approaches, and media attention intensifies, knowledge and awareness will increase.

The organizing committee relied mainly on word-of-mouth, newsprint, radio, and posters to get the information out at the start. Announcements were made during Red Deer Rebels WHL games, and also during minor hockey games, both of which played a large role in providing information about the tournament and ticket packages.

“For the last month or so, it has been announced continually during Bantam and Midget AAA action,” Seibel says. “We’re making sure everyone knows about it.”

The Red Deer Optimist Rebels, the TELUS Cup hosts, have now advanced to the South Division final in the Alberta Midget Hockey League playoffs, so the Red Deer Minor Hockey Association is expecting more coverage will be given to their team.

Seibel expects that as the Optimist Rebels continue to advance, fans will begin to see them as real contenders for the TELUS Cup, and excitement will continue to build. He feels the media coverage from these playoff games will increase awareness around the city.

Earlier in the year, ticket packages were distributed to minor hockey teams for them to sell. Packages are now available at Ticketmaster as well as the RDMHA office.

Ticket sales are going very well,” Seibel says. ”We’re really looking forward to having some full buildings during the event.”

The ticket package sells for $69 – that includes a ticket to each of the round robin games as well as the bronze and gold medal matches. Tickets for the individual medal games are also available through Ticketmaster for just $15.