Esso Cup Chair Robin Wildey had high praise for the volunteers who made the tournament happen. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Esso Cup Concludes

Esso Cup chair reflects on whirlwind week, successful tournament

May 3, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Since 2018, Robin Wildey had been working toward bringing the Esso Cup to Prince Albert and after years of delays due to COVID-19 and countless hours of preparation, he finally realized his goal last week.

Now the tournament is over, the ice is coming out of the Art Hauser Centre, and the Chair of the Esso Cup Committee has got a moment to catch his breath.

“Just taking it all in, when that final buzzer went on Saturday, getting a chance to sit down and process the whole thing brought a wide variety of emotions,” said Wildey. “It was a nice sendoff, but now that this five-year journey is over, what’s next? Right now, absolutely nothing.”

Bringing together six teams from all over the country and organizing volunteers enough to keep the event running smoothly was no small feat. While there was some anxiety building up to the tournament, the closer it got, the less nervous the committee felt.

“When the puck finally dropped on that first game and things had been in place, right off the bat we knew the teams would be able to come in and adapt to whatever was tossed at them,” Wildey said. “But we were pretty lucky with the teams that arrived. All the teams were very good to deal with and they were so appreciative of the hard work we’d put in.”

Court proceedings

'The impact of this trauma will echo for generations': court case surrounding La Ronge woman's death reaches conclusion

2h ago

Going Global

P.A.'s Zablocki named to Team Canada for U18 Women's World Championships

2h ago

Election 2024

Birch Hills staff won't share election decision

3h ago

For Wildey, one of the fondest memories of the tournament is of the volunteer support they got. It started out promising and then grew rapidly, and did not go unnoticed by the teams.

“We were about a month out and we were sitting back with 36 volunteers,” Wildey said. “We did that volunteer drive, and out of nowhere we gained another hundred. When the call goes out that volunteers are needed, this city responds and they respond in full.”

At the end of the tournament, it came down to one simple question: was the Esso Cup a success in Prince Albert? Wildey’s answer was immediate and unhesitant.

“Absolutely, without a shadow in my mind,” he said. “The teams have nothing but positive things to say about our city. They loved the building we’re playing in, they loved our volunteers, they loved how the event was centered on them… We were hearing compliments from some people who’ve been to multiple (Esso Cups) that this was the best one they’ve been to.”

The tournament was going to be profitable well before the first puck dropped, as they had met all their costs a month out from it. Wildey said they haven’t totaled up the final monetary results yet, but the low end is $30,000.

—-

rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP