Monday, June 20, 2011

ROYALS ANNOUNCE TRAINING CAMP DETAILS AND UPDATES ON BILLETING AND SCHOOLING

Press Release

Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals are proud to announce that the team’s inaugural training camp will begin on August 20, 2011.

Training camp will span over 12 days and see three separate camps during that period; Draft Camp, Rookie Camp and Main Camp. The team will break camp on August 31st following the team’s Black vs. White Intra-squad game.

Royals’ Draft Camp will consist of the players selected by Victoria during the 2011 Bantam Draft that was held in Calgary on May 5th, and will run from August 20-23. Draft Camp will see the players skate in the morning with members of the Royals’ Hockey Staff and then explore the city in the afternoon with their families.

Roughly 160 players will attend the Royals’ Rookie Camp. These players, born in 1995 or 1996, will descend on Victoria from August 24-28. The players will be split into teams with each team playing seven games over three and a half days. A select number of these players will earn an invite to Main Camp.

Royals’ Main Camp opens on August 29 and will conclude on August 31st with the Black vs. White Intra-squad game. Main Camp will see approximately 80 players be split into four teams for scrimmages over the three days of camp.

A detailed itinerary for Royals’ Training Camp will be released closer to the start of camp.

The Royals Hockey Club has also moved forward in the billeting process. The team received over 200 applications from interested families wanting to host a Royals’ player for the upcoming season. The Royals’ have enlisted three members of the Victoria Police Department to oversee both the application process and the billeting program for the team. Officer Ross Smith will serve as the Billet Coordinator, Officer Dale Sleightholme will be the team’s Community Services Coordinator and Officer Matt Waterman will help oversee the process.

“Our highest responsibility is to the health and welfare of our players on-and-off the ice,” Habscheid said. “Having officers Smith, Sleightholme and Waterman involved with our team helps us to reach that goal. They have been outstanding in ensuring that.”

The team has also selected Victoria High School as the future educational institute for the Royals’ players that are of school age. Vice Principal Tammy Renyard will be the team’s Education Advisor.

“Vic High was the perfect school to send our players too,” Habscheid said. “We did an extensive search to determine which school would best fit our needs. The faculty, led by Principal Randi Falls, is top notch and provides a positive environment for students to succeed and thrive in. These factors made this decision easy.”

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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