The annual Crowchild Classic originally set to take place on Feb. 3 has been postponed until 2023. It will no longer take place at the Scotiabank Saddledome as part of the regular Dinos men’s and women’s hockey season at the University of Calgary due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s latest wave.
Instead, the two games will be rescheduled for a later date in February and will take place on a smaller scale at the Father David Bauer Arena and Flames Community Arenas.
“It’s certainly disappointing that one of the marquee events on the U SPORTS hockey calendar will not happen for a second straight year, but given the current circumstances this is the appropriate decision,” stated Ben Matchett, U of C’s Dino's Director of Athletics. “The health and safety of our student-athletes, staff, and our student body is our number one priority, and with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant and both campuses in online learning until at least the end of January, moving forward with this event would not have been prudent."
It’s one of the biggest sporting events in varsity sports for the university, as it gives students the ability to have a smackdown with arch-nemesis, the Mount Royal University Cougars, and bag official bragging rights.
The series is highlighted annually by both men's and women’s hockey teams battling it out, hosted by the Calgary Flames, at the Scotiabank Saddledome. In the first instalment of the rivalry games in 2012, the Crowchild Classic broke a 42-year-old Canada West attendance record and set a U SPORTS men's hockey attendance record with a total of 12,859 fans in 2016.
The Crowchild Classic itself is a series of competitions with the winner of the competition being determined as a culmination of head-to-head clashes between around eight types of varsity sports teams also including sports such as men’s and women’s soccer, basketball and volleyball.
Fun fact, the trophy for the winner of the competition is a cast-iron City of Calgary manhole cover donated by Trojan industries and is representative of Crowchild Trail which links the two universities. Each university's men's and women's hockey teams receive an annual $20,000 donation from the Calgary Flames and award four students per year at each school with the Calgary Flames Hockey Scholarship.
For further updates on the University of Calgary’s varsity athletics be sure to check out the Dinos website for more information.
