Thetford Mines goes "un moment svp" on Hockeyville votes

While they may still be celebrating success in Terrace from last Saturday's Kraft Hockeyville announcement, out Quebec way they're wondering about that vote count!

Citing the "authority" of Bell Canada, Luc Berthold, the Mayor of Thetford Mines claims that his community was short changed by some 2 million, 260 thousand and 635 votes. A gap of two thirds which he says might very well have cost his town the crown as Hockeyville for 2009.

Terrace won the competition with a vote total of just over 1.9 million votes.

The organizers of the Hockeyville project are sticking to their vote count, claiming that they only counted those votes which were done using the three voting channels established in the rules and regulations, which were by texting, 222111, calling the 1-866 number and by voting online at cbcsports.ca/hockeyville.

It is probably unlikely that after all the hoopla and celebration of last Saturday that the CBC and Kraft are going to go and say oopsie we made a mistake, but it certainly will call the entire voting process into question and no doubt spur on the organizers to find a more reliable and less controversial method of counting the votes for next years competition.

The Terrace Standard has posted a report on the sudden controversy over the vote, there was no indication given as to whether Thetford Mines has any other plans to question the vote, but in a Canadian Press story they do explain how they would like some answers and perhaps a review of the voting procedures.

And the winner is....

The votes have been tabulated and the results revealed to an anxious public, and the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2009 is ...................... Terrace, BC.

The northwest BC community was named Hockeyville on Saturday night as the announcement was made live during the first intermission of the Vancouver Canucks/San Jose Sharks game on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

The CBC had the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman make the grand announcement, which sent the crowd gathered at the Skeena Mall in Terrace into joy.

As the CBC went to Terrace, the celebration was raucous and the reaction one of being overwhelmed as Terrace residents celebrated the good news.

Reaction was quick to pour in as the Premier relayed his best wishes, touching on the theme of community involvement as the key to the successful Terrace bid, a senes of community that was outlined by the many You Tube videos that appeared as the bid process went along.

Terrace managed to unite the normally competitive communities of the Northwest to fall in behind their bid, with many residents from Prince Rupert through to Smithers and Kitimat spending the last few days contacting the Hockeyville website with their vote.

Judging by the voting tallies they were not alone, the final vote count had Terrace edging out Humbolt Saskatchewan by just over 110,000 votes. By the time all the texting, on line and phone balloting had come to an end, Terrace had received 1,923,456 votes.

Overall some 7100 communities began the quest to be named Hockeyville, eight times more than last year's contest provided, but the last one left standing at the end of the competition was Terrace.

The community will receive 100.000 dollars for arena upgrades, a featured spot in a one hour Kraft Hockeyville special and will host the Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders on September 14th.

Terrace joins the ranks of Roberval,Quebec, North Bay, Ontario and Salmon River, Nova Scotia as selected cities in the Kraft Hockeyville competitions through the years of the competition.

The Terrace victory spilled out into the streets of the city following the announcement as excited residents honked their horns and celebrated with an ongoing parade and carnival like atmosphere throughout the downtown area.

Kraft Hockeyville webpage

CBC Sports-- Terrace, B.C., is Kraft Hockeyville

Opinion 250-- Terrace is Hockeyville

Terrace Daily online-- TERRACE "IS" HOCKEYVILLE 2009!!!

Vancouver Province-- Terrace is Kraft Hockeyville

BC Local News-- Terrace wins Hockeyville 2009

NHL.com-- Terrace, BC wins Kraft Hockeyville 2009 title

Terrace makes it to the final five of Hockeyville competition

The excitement will be building in Terrace, the northwest community has reached the final five in the Kraft Hockeyville competition, it joined the final five in the second intermission of Sunday night's all star game.

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If successful, Terrace will receive 100,000 dollars for arena improvements and will host an exhibition hockey game, as well as be featured in a CBC program on the spirit of community and hockey.

And to add to the thrill of making the final five, Hockey Night in Canada will soon be featuring the community in a finalist profile, all five finalists will be featured between January 31 and February 28.

The announcement of Hockeyville will take place on March 7th.

The Hockeyville website will update the progress of the competition leading up to the big final vote in thirty three days.

Terrace makes it to the final ten!

Like an anxious hockey player trying to make the big team, Terrace has survived the latest coach's cuts. As the CBC announced the lucky ten communities that will now continue their journey to be Kraft Hockeyville 2009.

The Northwest entry in the Kraft Hockeyville competition has made it into the next round, facing off against nine other Canadian communities for the right to call themselves Hockeyville for the year and bring in a number of prizes from the sponsors of the project.

7100 communities began the journey last fall and Terrace showing a good deal of community spirit thus far has managed to stay alive in the competition and now is in as good a position of any of the ten to claim the title.

Terrace is hoping to still be standing when the knock outs finish off with a final five showdown phase that will begin on January 25th during the All Star game.
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The on line voting to select those final five communities will continue on until January 18th, We can vote in any number of ways, from the online vote at CBC Sports.ca/hockeyville or we can phone it in with a call to 1-866-533-8066, those with quick thumbs can vote by text message using VOTE + community name to 222111 (standard text message rates apply).

Among the competitors that Terrace faces in its quest for success are: Harbour Grace, N.L.,
Stanley, N.B. ,Acton Vale, Que., Thetford Mines, Que., Elmira, Ont., Lincoln, Ont., Humboldt, Sask., La Broquerie, Man. and Penticton, B.C.

The Progress of the competition now that it's in the home stretch can be followed at the CBC site or on the Facebook page that has been created for followers of the competition.

If Terrace should prevail when this years Hockeyville is announced, they will be receiving some pretty impressive rewards for their efforts, an NHL pre-season game played in the local arena and $100,000 in arena upgrades as well as some valuable public relations time as they will be featured in a one-hour special to be aired on CBC-TV in September 2009.

Even coming up a little short has its rewards as the other four finalists receive $25,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft.

However, if you've made it this far, they may as well go for the gold.

The voting lines are now open, so as they say vote early and vote often!

The Quest for Hockeyville is underway

From Newfoundland to British Columbia and to the farthest reaches of the North, communities across Canada are putting together their bids to be the next Canadian community selected as Kraft's Hockeyville.



The 2009 competition got underway on November 1st, and the deadline for submissions is fast approaching with December 6th as the last day for Canadians to offer up their community as a worthy candidate for Hockeyville.

The successful community will host an NHL Pre-Season Game in their arena, a visit from CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and the prize that all communities are seeking $100 000 from Kraft to upgrade their local arena!

Prince Rupert has been posted on line as a potential Hockeyville, though the submissions are few at the moment, especially when compared to our neighbours to the east in Terrace who have been quick to take up the challenge. If you feel that Rupert is indeed Hockeyville, then the task is up to you, with your chance to post your thoughts on how hockey is important to you and your community.

The Kraft Hockeyville website has full details on how to get involved, as well some background on what the competition is all about. You can also follow the progress of the competition from the Hockeyville facebook site.

The successful communities so far have been Salmon River, Nova Scotia in 2006, North Bay, Ontario in 2007 and last years successful town Roberval, Quebec, simple geography suggests that a Western or Northern community is destined to be the next selection.

The local debate is currently underway on hackingthemainframe, where participants in the forum topic are posting their thoughts on the merits of Prince Rupert putting in a bid and the odds of success coming our way.

Check out the websites and get involved for our community, you never know, your story and community spirit may be just what they are looking for.