The Centennial Cup tournament, also known as the National Junior A Championship, is a 12-day hockey tournament that dates back more than 50 years. The Road to Centennial Cup includes over 100 teams in nine junior hockey leagues across Canada, and the champions from each league come together, along with the host team, to play in the Centennial Cup. In January 2023, the Oakville Blades Junior A Hockey Club submitted the successful bid to host the 2024 championship.
The 2024 Centennial Cup was hosted from May 9 – 19, 2024, at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, located in Oakville, ON. The tournament was a resounding success, with over 30,000 visits to Sixteen Mile over the duration of the tournament. Hosting a large event like this requires considerable collaboration and the formation of a Host Committee with representatives from the Oakville Blades, Hockey Canada, the Town of Oakville, and Visit Oakville (Oakville’s Destination Marketing Organization). The Centennial Cup was hosted at the Town’s Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, a state-of-the-art quad pad arena. The Town of Oakville’s Council supported the event by covering the costs of the ice rental for the tournament, as well as providing a financial contribution. Town staff worked with the Oakville Blades and Hockey Canada to prepare the bid for the tournament, and then to coordinate and deliver the tournament, including scheduling games, traffic and transportation coordination, team services and practice schedules, ticket sales coordination and gameday operations. Visit Oakville also provided a monetary sponsorship, as well as marketing initiatives to raise awareness and attendance including social media engagement; giveaways; short-form video; digital and printed marketing assets, such as rink boards and a digital guide; swag bags; media releases and podcasts; on-site visitor concierge and coordination of logistics with local hotels.
This collaboration resulted in what has been widely regarded as one of the most successful Centennial Cup ever held. Community and economic benefits included supporting tourism in Oakville as well as supporting the town’s vision to become a leading destination for national and international tournaments and events; increased media exposure for Oakville through TSN broadcast; civic engagement for championship volunteers; supporting hockey and sport locally and fostering civic pride. As the event was hosted recently, full results have not been collected, but early results include:
The target audience in this collaboration included hockey fans and players, and their friends and families. For the Centennial Cup organizers, this was the largest tournament they’ve ever hosted and presented new challenges due to the scale of the event. The tournament was a true national championship with 10 teams and more than 200 athletes attending from across Canada. The tournament Host Committee included representation from all members of the partnership and took on all requirements of hosting a national event. Challenges included making all arrangements for event details ranging from hotel and transportation logistics, recruiting volunteers, coordinating national television and streaming broadcasts, to medical services and providing unique and memorable team experiences. By working together, Team Oakville delivered a highly successful event that generated positive national exposure for Oakville while providing lifetime memories for athletes and their families.