CREEDE — Nothing says Creede in January like warm fire pits, cold ice and pond hockey. For nearly two decades, the Golden Pick Tommyknocker Pond Hockey Tournaments have brought people out of their warm homes to enjoy the short winter days on the ice in one of the most beautiful places in Colorado. The 17^th annual Golden Pick Tommyknocker Pond Hockey Tournament is set for Jan. 13 and 14.

Nestled among the high caldera cliffs at the northern end of town, the Silver Ice Park ice skating rinks will once again play host to people for some wintertime fun and some ice hockey. The event has taken hold as a tradition for the town.

This non-professional hockey tournament is for “the rest of us” as co-founder Brian Brittain dubs it. The ponds are lined with burn barrels to keep players warm and bleachers for fans to come and enjoy the two days of friendly hockey fun. The ponds are located at 8,900 feet elevation which adds an additional challenge to the tournament and its players. The views surrounding the rinks add an incentive to those who travel from all over the southwestern US to take part in the hockey tournament. Players from all walks of life travel to Creede just to enjoy the laid-back fun tournament that caters to all levels of experience.

The tournament consists of two levels of competition and is set up in a way that ensures each participating team gets to play at least one playoff game by the end. The schedule is known to hockey enthusiasts as a round-robin format with a three-on-three team play.

The event began with two business owners from the Creede area wanting to have some friendly fun among residents during the slow winter months and has turned into one of the largest pond hockey tournaments in Southwestern Colorado. Tommyknocker Tavern and Kip’s Grill came together with a few people at the beginning and allowed it to grow into a full-on hockey event.

Several years ago, while visiting a neighboring bar, Kip Nagy, owner of Kip’s Grill, happened across a friend that owned a production company called Pride of Gypsies. After hearing about the steep caldera cliffs and picturesque scenery, the company decided to film a series of commercials for Carhartt. After filming was completed, a shed that was built for prop purposes was donated by Carhartt to be used as a warming hut during the hockey tournament. The shed now has a permanent home next to the lower pond.

In the years since, the ponds above town have gone from mere recreational ponds to becoming a designated city park, suitably named for Creede’s unique mining history as Silver Ice Park. The City of Creede adopted the ponds during a series of meetings in 2015 and helped with funding that purchased several lights that now line the outer edges of the ponds to allow for night skating.

Registration is now open, visit www.creedepondhockey.wordpress.com to sign up.