The official design for the 2008 Minto Cup logo was unveiled late last week in Calgary. The logo, designed by T. Litzen, represents Calgary’s western heritage as well as its proximity to the Rocky Mountains. The Mountaineers will be joined by three other Canadian teams in a race for the national championship in late August.

» Download (PDF) complete press release

Sponsorship

The Mountaineers, in cooperation with the CLA, have released the 2008 Minto Cup Sponsorship and Program Advertising forms.

There are a variety of sponsorship opportunities for the corporate community including the 'Promoters of Lacrosse' category, where ticket packages for the Minto Cup will be given away courtesy of a corporate donator.

There are also categories that includes an opportunity for our corporate community to send local and regional minor box lacrosse players to a Minto Cup game through the 'Game Day Sponsor'.

• Download Sponsorship Form (PDF 63kb)

Advertising

In addition to sponsorship opportunities, there are also great advertising opportunities in the Minto Cup game-day programs. Have a look at the advertising form (download below) and see if there is something there for your company.

• Download Program Advertising Form (PDF 61kb)

With a multitude of Minto Cup preparations now in motion, we have added a few new areas to the Minto Cup portion of our website.

Find all available detail on Ticket Information, Accommodations, Venue, and Schudule. These four areas have already been set and are ready for your review.

All information is paralleled at www.minto-cup.ca.

Location Details:

• Sunday, January 27
• Pesowski Residence
• If you are able to attend this session please email to let her know (she will give you directions).

The focus of this planning session will be:

• Player gifts from host club.
• Still photographer for team photos.
• Action photographer for individual shots.
• Intermission planning.
• Singer(s) for national anthem.
• First Aid providers (i.e. St. John's).
• Team hosts..

Location Details:

• Sunday, January 20
• Pesowski Residence
• If you are able to attend this session please email to let her know (she will give you directions).

The focus of this planning session will be:

• Media lunch held on August 22 at Delta Bow Valley Hotel; attendees are media, teams, referees, and local dignitaries.
• Opening and closing ceremony; each ceremony is not to exceed 20 - 30 minutes.
• Marketing of the Minto Cup

A kick-off information and organizational session has been scheduled by the 2008 Minto Cup tournament organizing committee.

If you would like to learn more about the Junior A national championship tournament being held in Calgary next August, or if you would like to volunteer, please attend.

For further details please download the 2008 Minto Cup Information Meeting PDF.

Meeting details:

• Saturday, October 27 at 10:00 am
• Mount Royal College, East Arts Building
• Room EA1067
• Parking is Free

Lorie Pesowski has graciously volunteered to take on the critical role of Chairperson for the 2008 Minto Cup Organization Committee.

Lorie brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise in the realm of corporate leadership, committee leadership, and in particular, project management.

If you would like to learn more about the 2008 Minto Cup and how you can help the Mountaineers, Calgary, and indeed, Alberta, host this tremendous event, then please anytime.

In what can only be viewed as a tremendous opportunity for the Junior A Mountaineers, the club has been awarded the 2008 Minto Cup in what will only be the clubs third year of operation.

"This is a great positive for our club in the sense that the 2008 Minto Cup will take place in only our third year of operation. Although from an organizational perspective we are relatively young, our experience level at the director and management level is up there with the best in the country and I think the ALA recognizes that expererience." says head coach, John Kilbride.

The Minto Cup is the pinnacle of Junior A lacrosse excellence in Canada and to go into the tournament in 2008 and compete for the trophy will be a significant challenge for the Mountaineers. Historically, Alberta clubs have not faired that well in the Minto Cup, let alone challenge for the trophy itself.

Kilbride goes on to say:
"Our goal will be to represent Alberta in the 2007 Minto Cup being held in New Westminster, BC, but this alone will be a very difficult challenge as the other three Junior A clubs in Alberta will be very strong and of course, the Junior A Miners and the Junior A Raiders have a degree of experience from previous Minto Cup appearances that cannot be coached, it must be attained.

Having said that, should we be successful in our goal for 2006, our players will have the chance to experience this tournament first hand and recognize what level of excellence must be achieved to be a serious contender. This will set the stage for our program for 2008 when the tournament is in Calgary."

As tremendous a positive as this is for the Junior A Mountaineers Lacrosse Club, it is equally a significant challenge from a financial perspective. The financial burden of hosting this tournament falls primarily on the host club itself, and the task of breaking even is not a reality without significant corporate sponsorship.

The club is optimistic that corporate Calgary, local small business, and the Alberta lacrosse community in general, will embrace the 2008 Minto Cup and support the Mountaineers in their quest to make the 2008 Minto Cup one of the most professionally run events in recent memory.

Also of significant news is that this is not just a win for the Junior A Mountaineers but also for the Calgary District Lacrosse Association and, in particular, the Midget Nationals bid group. The 2008 Minto Cup is being hosted in partnership with the 2008 Midget Nationals. The Midget Nationals group worked closely with the Mountaineers Lacrosse Club in order to put forth a strong, cohesive proposal. This work seems to have paid off and now the entire Calgary lacrosse community will have an opportunity to see the best lacrosse players Canada has to offer at both the Midget and Junior A levels.

Each year the Minto Cup is hosted by a Junior A club in either British Columbia, Ontario, or Alberta -- the three provinces which play Junior A lacrosse. The process of becoming the Minto Cup host team is based on a bid process for which any team in the host province may submit a bid. The Minto Cup tournament rotates among the three provinces with Junior A divisions.

For the 2008 Minto Cup, the Junior A Mountaineers have submitted what is believed to be a very strong bid. It is expected that the successful bid will be announced prior to the 2007 regular season.

This is an exciting process for the Junior A Mountaineers executive, management, and players because a successful bid will guarantee a birth into this illustrious championship, and provide our players with an experience of a lifetime. Having said that, it is the objective of our organization to become the Alberta Junior A Champion not only in 2008, but also in 2007.

As you can imagine, hosting a high profile tournament such as the Minto Cup is a very involved process. We will be counting on our supporters, and the lacrosse community in general, should our bid be successful.