Team Alberta Sweeps AAU Junior Olympics in Huntington Beach
July 24, 2012
Team Alberta Sweeps AAU Junior Olympics in Huntington Beach
2012 proved to be a successful year for Team Alberta at the AAU Junior Olympics held June 28- July 9 in Huntington Beach, California. The six U12-U18 teams brought down came back with four gold medals, four silver medals and 2 copper medals (4th place). This tournament wasn’t only about the medals, but a chance to test skills against teams from across the USA, Hong Kong, Great Britain and Columbia. All teams competing played in two tournaments; club and international. This gave each team an average of 12 games during the tournament.
California is an exceptional place for an inline tournament, and The Rinks at Huntington Beach fit the bill, providing a great venue for the tournament. Three rinks were utilized in an indoor space, and some of the Team Alberta’s were lucky enough to play in an outdoor air rink in Irvine, which is an extension of the indoor facility. These twin rinks are covered with state of the art tarp providing shade but have open sides to let the California air circulate through. Also to indulge the players were many booths from the best companies in roller hockey selling merchandise in the latest hockey technology.
The teams got to experience more than just an inline tournament – many getting to attend an LA Angels MLB game. Most got to visit Disneyland with their families, enjoy the Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach, and indulge in some shopping. Players and parents had a great trip and many are looking forward to next year. In 2013, the AAU Junior Olympics will be running concurrently with the World Inline Hockey Championships at the same venue; promising to be the best tournament yet. Stay tuned for details – Team Alberta will definitely be making the trip for the 4th consecutive year.
Congratulations to the teams on their impressive standings in 2012 AAU Junior Olympics:
U12 – Gold in Club ‘A’ Tournament / Copper International Tournament
U14 Blue – Gold in Club ‘AA’ Tournament / Silver International Tournament
U14 Red – 6th in Club ‘AA’ Tournament / Copper International Tournament
U16 Blue – Silver in Club ‘AA’ Tournament / Silver International Tournament
U16 Red- 6th in Club ‘AAA’ Tournament / Gold International Tournament
U18 – Silver in Club ‘AA’ Tournament / Gold International Tournament
All individual game scores have been posted under the schedules tab
