The Portage Rotary Club has, unfortunately, had to pull the plug on their annual Western Canadian Pond Hockey Championships.

Travis Foster, chair for the tournament, says they tried to keep the door open for it as long as they could, but when the new public health restrictions made their way into the province, they thought it best to shut it down and look ahead to 2023.

He notes there are no plans as of yet for 2023's championships.

"We usually do the planning there in about September," notes Foster. "So, we'll wait this one out and see where things go. Hopefully, we're back playing again next year."

He adds the event would normally fall on Louis Riel weekend, and registration would've been just starting to happen. They also, normally, host a social, so that even those who don't want to participate on the ice can still be included in the fun.

"It's usually about a $10,000 fundraiser for the Rotary Club," explains Foster. "So, it does hurt our bottom line at Rotary. But we'll look at making up the funds in a different way."

He's excited to hopefully see everybody back out on the ice in 2023's edition of the Western Canadian Pond Hockey Championships.