May the Fourth be with you: Kids hit the ice for Star Wars-themed hockey tournament

Star Wars characters took over Winsport on Saturday to celebrate May the Fourth.

While it wasn’t the snowy planet of Hoth, the ice surface was filled with kids donning themed jerseys for the Star Wars Classic.

May 4 has become a tradition among Star Wars fans to celebrate a galaxy far, far away. The date is a play on words of the iconic catchphrase, “May the force be with you.”

The annual tournament, put on by the AMP Youth Hockey Development Program, brought together 140 kids for games of three-on-three.

“We have Chewbacca, we have Darth Vader, all the characters, and we bring out the characters on the ice to celebrate with the kids,” Patrick Breault, the director of hockey operations at AMP, said.

“It's a really fun way to do three-on-three hockey, which we do all year round. But May the Fourth is a special weekend for the kids for Star Wars.”

There were three divisions of youth teams, aged U7, U9 and U11. The divisions were divided into four teams, named after Star Wars characters: Stormtroopers, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader.

Breault said the event adds a bit of excitement for the kids, outside of their usual drills and practices.

“They still get to play hockey. And sometimes they even play a little bit more competitive,” he said.

The playoff round will run on Sunday, with the winners hoisting Star Wars-themed trophies.

Some of the parents even hit the ice as part of the festivities, trying out sledge hockey with the kids.

“We have a good affiliation with sledge hockey and trying to develop that program. So this is also just a great tie-in for sledge hockey and Star Wars,” Breault said.

With files from CTV News Calgary’s Tyler Barrow