There was a Drumheller presence at the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame gala as two former residents were inducted as part of two very special teams.

George Kallay, who previously had been inducted on his own, was inducted as part of the 1999 Canada Winter Games Gold Medal team. Also inducted was Shantel Trentham, daughter of Dick and Margaret Trentham. She was a member of the 1991 Canada Winter Games Gold Medal team.

This was the 15th-Anniversary Awards Gala, held in Canmore on July 22.

“Congratulations to all who are being inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame. Your dedication is what brought us together,” said Bob Clark, chair of the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in his congratulatory message.

The 1991 Team Alberta Gold Winning team made history, as this was the first year that  Female Hockey was added to the Canada Games. In Alberta, 120 players tried out for the 21 spots. Most were from rural communities and most went through the same experience; playing on boy’s teams, changing in boiler rooms or washrooms. As a comparison 6,000 young ladies tried out for the Ontario team.

In pool play, the Alberta team finished with a 3-1 record, with wins over Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. Their loss was at the hand of Quebec. In the semi-final they bested the heavily favoured team from Ontario and went on to play British Columbia in the final, winning 2-1.

Shantel was accompanied by her parents and family members to the induction ceremony. In meeting with her former players she told The Mail it felt like they were together just yesterday.

Kallay’s resume among those in hockey circles is well known.  His service has spanned decades and he has fulfilled a number of roles dedicated to player development. He has been a parent, coach, and official, all the way up to serving on the executive of Hockey Alberta, The Hockey Alberta Foundation, and Hockey Canada. He was inducted in 2015.

On this evening he was celebrated as part of the 1999 Team Alberta squad that won the Canada Winter Games. These games were hosted in Newfoundland and Labrador. Kallay was director of operations.

Team Alberta opened the tournament with a one-goal victory over Quebec and finished round robin play with wins over Manitoba, the Yukon, and PEI. In the semifinal, they blew out Ontario 6-0. The final was a rematch between Quebec and Alberta and it went into overtime before Alberta eked out a 3-2 victory.

The team includes a number of players who went on to the NHL including Scott Harnell, Jared Aulin, Dan Blackburn, Brennan Evans, Ben Ondrus and Nathan Smith.

Other inductees this year into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame include Flames goalie Mike Vernon, Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr, coach Wally Kozak and broadcaster Ron Maclean.

Get your broomsticks ready, muggles – quidditch is coming to the badlands.

Organizers are preparing to start the Badlands Quidditch Club and bring quidditch to the area, a sport dreamt up by author J.K. Rowling for her mega-popular Harry Potter book and movie series.

“The Harry Potter factor is a very big thing for us, but we’re also finding people  come out to try the game, that they enjoy the game – they haven’t even read the books. They try it and stick around,” says Ricky Boyce of Hanna, lead organizer and head coach of the club.

While players lack the magic to be able to fly around like it is done in the Harry Potter universe, the sport has been played by ordinary muggles like the fantasy sport. To score points, chasers or keepers must get the quaffle (ball) into one of three opposing hoops which scores the team 10 points. The opposing chasers and keepers are able to tackle opposing players as well as using dodgeballs to temporarily eliminate players. While this game goes on, the seekers, maybe the most favoured position because this is what Harry did in the series, chase the ‘golden snitch.’ While in the movie, this was a magic ball with wings, the golden snitch role is performed by a player in a yellow uniform and a ball hanging off their waist. If either team’s seekers can grab this ball, the game ends and their team is awarded an additional 40 points. Whichever team has the most points wins.

“It’s so much fun – I’m highly addicted to it, and there’s no cure,” Boyce says. “I’m hoping there are a lot of people who will benefit from this. We’ve found those people who didn’t know they could be such good players, but they were interested in the Harry Potter aspect of it, later on found themselves thinking that ‘maybe I’m good at other sports, too.’”

“I think it’s another great opportunity to get active,” says Drumheller Family and Community Support Services’ April Harrison, who helped organize a Harry Potter 20th anniversary celebration and quidditch match last year. “I think so many young people had a good time last year.”

The club hopes to start by creating youth and adult teams to compete with other existing clubs in Alberta. There are regularly tournaments around central Alberta, and later on Boyce says they hope to host their own tournament in Hanna.

He says quidditch is also gender inclusive, with males and females playing together in co-ed teams.

“Everybody gets along and everyone has a spot in quidditch. It’s one of the first sports I’ve been a part of that’s equal for everyone.”

Boyce says the sport started in 2005 and has taken off since then, with quidditch clubs popping up in cities and towns around the world. He says Team Canada recently competed in the world championships in Italy and the team included three Alberta players. He says small towns have undiscovered talent they hope to tap into.

The club will be joining the national Quidditch Canada organization as well as the Central Alberta Quidditch association, with plans to compete against other Albertan teams and maybe even nationally depending on their success.

The Badlands Quidditch Club will be holding a registration night in Hanna at the Community Centre on Tuesday, August 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. Those who can’t make it that night can email the club at badlandsquidditchclub@gmail.com.

Their first practice will be on September 11 at the outdoor fields of J.C. Charyk School in Hanna. Organizers play throughout the winter and spring, with the Town of Hanna donating rec centre space for the club to play in once the snow falls.