Burnaby, B.C. – Burnaby’s newest sport venue is getting high marks from teams in the 2024 Pat Quinn Classic. The two rinks at the new Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre in South Burnaby are getting a busy workout at this year’s tournament with more than 50 games on the schedule.
“It’s great,” says Lindsay Wilkinson, assistant coach for the U13 A2 Tri Cities female team. “The facility is nice and bright and clean and fresh. The change rooms are amazing with lots of nice space.”
“We love this facility, it’s beautiful,” says Kristin Yakiwchuk, head coach of the Meadow Ridge Barracudas, U15 A female team. “The dressing rooms are spacious; the ice is great.” The Meadow Ridge Barracudas have been a regular participant in the Pat Quinn Classic since the female division was added in 2018. “The tournament is a good litmus test to see where we are going to be in January,” says Yakiwchuk. “I think the quality of hockey in the Lower Mainland is very high and our girls come to compete and like to be intense.”
For the first time, a female team from the San Jose Jr. Sharks has travelled north from California to the Pat Quinn Classic. The head coach of the U14 AAA team, Matt Adams, says he had to see what the tournament was all about after hearing great things from the San Jose male teams that have competed multiple times at the tournament. “It is top notch,” says Adams. “It is professionally run with great facilities. You see the merchandise and the check-in table and the staff management. All of these things make a difference.” Having been to many tournaments over the years, Adams declares “there’s nothing run as well as this. It makes me want to come back.”
The 2024 Pat Quinn Classic features 49 teams in seven divisions:
- 23 from the Lower Mainland
- 10 from the rest of B.C.
- 16 from the United States
The divisions are:
- Female U13 Elite
- Female U15 Elite
- Integrated U13 Flight 1
- Integrated U15 Flight 1
- Integrated U15 Flight 2
- Integrated U17 Flight 1
- Integrated U17 Flight 2
The tournament runs from December 27 to 31 at venues in Burnaby, Delta and Surrey.
Backgrounder – The Pat Quinn Classic
The Burnaby Minor Hockey Association began hosting the annual December Bantam hockey tournament in 1962. It is now the longest-running event of its kind in the world. The tournament became the Pat Quinn Classic in 2015, named after the legendary player, coach, general manager and team owner. Pat Quinn is internationally-recognized as one of the hockey’s greatest coaches and ambassadors. Proceeds go to the Pat Quinn Scholarship Fund. Managed by Hockey Canada, the fund supports players in post-secondary education after their hockey careers. Quinn is one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian sport and has made an enormous contribution to sport in British Columbia and Canada.
The objective of the Pat Quinn Classic is to create a top international-calibre tournament in Western Canada to showcase local teams alongside some of the strongest programs in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. Organizers worked with the Quinn family to create a unique tournament that strikes the right balance between exciting hockey, skill and leadership development and community engagement. Pat motivated players at all levels to work hard on the ice and live with passion and integrity off the ice. The vision of this tournament exemplifies his love of hockey and his unwavering commitment to give back to the community.
MEDIA CONTACT
Samuel @ info@patquinnclassic.com