SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Grizzlies are preparing for their 18th annual tournament taking place this year, Jan. 17-20. This annual tournament returned last year after a four-year pause due to the pandemic.

This year’s tournament expands upon the successful return of last year by again utilizing two venues, the Tahoe Blue Event Center and South Tahoe Ice Arena. This increased capacity allows the Grizzlies to host significantly more teams, creating a larger and more competitive event.

The tournament has traditionally taken place over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend when hockey players ages 5-17 travel to Tahoe for a weekend on the ice.

This year’s tournament will host 36 teams, and around 575 players with multiple hockey divisions.

The annual tournament provides financial support to the Grizzlies, a South Tahoe based amateur hockey association. Tournament revenue provides funds to subsidize player tuition costs, making the sport more accessible to a wider range of families. The annual event also funds scholarship opportunities for underprivileged players and those new to the sport.

Local players experience a home-ice advantage in utilizing local facilities, including the pride of skating on ice Tahoe’s own Knight Monsters skate on.

It isn’t just the players that get a boost from a home tournament, so does the local economy. The tournament brings hundreds of players and their families to South Lake Tahoe, stimulating local businesses with hotel stays, restaurant meals, and other tourism-related spending.

It allows these visiting families the opportunity to experience Tahoe’s beauty and compound the hockey experience with skiing, snowboarding, and other recreational activities.

Tournament director Janine Haden says the association is building on the community’s generous support. “Last year’s success was fueled by the local businesses donating to our raffle and silent auction.”

This year, organizers have introduced an online component to the silent auction, enabling broader participation and potentially increasing fundraising efforts.

Lift tickets from Palisades Tahoe, a gift certificate from Clearly Tahoe, and overnight stay at Edgewood Tahoe are a sampling of what the silent auction has to offer. You can participate in the silent auction even if you aren’t at the tournament through this link: zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/tahoe-grizzlies-silent-auction.

The public is welcome to watch the hockey games. The tournament schedule has games starting noon Friday and throughout the day Saturday and Sunday at both locations.

The championship matches takes place on Monday, Jan. 20 at both locations from the morning and into the early afternoon.