Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Chad Klassen

KIBIHT CANCELLED

KIBIHT cancelled for first time in 51 years, organizers say ‘not an easy decision’

Sep 15, 2020 | 5:44 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been a staple in the Kamloops hockey community for the last 51 years. However, the Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament (KIBIHT) won’t happen in January for the first time since it started in 1969.

“It’s not an easy decision. It was a pretty tough decision for us to make, as we had already spent a lot of time planning for this year’s tournament,” said KIBIHT chairman Jan Antons. “[Monday] night, we had a board meeting and we sat down and looked at how many teams had registered until this point, and trying to predict the future, which is one of the biggest issues we are having right now. We came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t feasible.”

The tournament opened up the registration at the end of July, but only heard back from three teams — all from B.C.

KIBIHT organizers also looked at the health landscape in the province and throughout North America and decided it would be too risky to go ahead with so much uncertainty. Teams are still waiting for BC Hockey to lift restrictions on playing games, and the limit on gatherings – with a maximum of 50 people – remains in place.

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“From a health and safety perspective, it would be very difficult to bring teams all the way from the other provinces into B.C. and still comply with the guidelines by the provincial health authorities,” noted Antons.

Started by Bud Fraser and “Eldie” Dever, KIBIHT quickly became a world-renown tournament featuring the best bantam players in North America and Europe. NHL stars like Mario Lemieux, Mark Recchi, Cliff Ronning, Joe Sakic, Patrick Kane and Ryan Kelser among many others have played in KIBIHT.

“I think it’s disappointing for everybody. I already got some feedback and everybody’s saying ‘We totally understanding. The decision had to be made.’ It’s a very pretigous tournament. It brings a lot of players to town, gives a lot of players a chance to be seen by scouts, to be seen by elite teams.”

For the first 45 years, KIBIHT was traditionally held on the Easter long weekend. In 2014, the tournament shifted to January, allowing Western Hockey League scouts to get an earlier look at the year’s talent.

Organizers toyed with the idea of pushing KIBIHT back to April, but that came with its own challenges.

“The problem we are having is, with BC Hockey and everybody else announcing their season is going to start later, they’re probably going to extend the regular season past where they have before, which then would make it difficult for us to have a tournament that late [in April.]”