Next week, the 66th and final edition of the Peterborough U11 Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament gets underway.

The first game scheduled is Friday morning, Jan. 9 at the Miskin Law Community Complex, and the tournament concludes Sunday, Jan. 11 with games at the Memorial Centre.

The tournament’s genesis was 1958. That season, eight peewee teams assembled in Peterborough for the inaugural event organized by the Peterborough Community Church Hockey League (PCCHL).

For the first 11 years, under Chair Neil Clark’s leadership, the tournament was held in mid-March. Eight teams competed in two, four-team divisions.

When the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) announced playdowns in the peewee age group, the tournament pivoted to novice competition and in 1974, the name “atom” was adopted when the OMHA reclassified age divisions.

In the fall of 1969, a group headed by Jack Guerin, Lloyd........

© Peterborough Examiner