March 16, 2010

By Mike Scandura
Special to USAHockey.com

Is “unique” the proper adjective to use when describing the Viroqua (Wis.) Thunderfest?

Just ask Viroqua Community Arena manager Pamela Soltau who, along with Bruce Donlon, founded the tournament in 2001.

“It’s absolutely unique,” Soltau said quite matter-of-factly. “A few years ago another town an hour away tried it and it fizzled out while ours is still going strong.”

The Thunderfest, which is held in March in the southwestern Wisconsin city, is in its ninth year of existence and involves girls not only from Wisconsin but also from Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.

It’s an end-of-the season tournament that’s split into 14 & Under and 19-U divisions and places girls on various teams regardless of the associations in which they play. Or to put it another way, girls on the same team during the regular season could — and do — wind up playing against each other.

“We’ll have six teams this year, but sometimes we’ve had as many as 10,” Soltau said. “The first year we had eight teams with about 126 girls. It’s a wonderful way to end the season because there isn’t any pressure. You’re not playing against another team for a trophy or a state title. Girls from [the Viroqua Area Hockey Association] will say ‘I like to play with Suzy.’ I don’t do friends. I mix them up. When they come on the ice, they play a game like they haven’t played the whole season because they’re playing against their own teammates.”

Teams receive two points for a win, one point for a tie and, if necessary, the usual tiebreakers (head-to-head competition, goals scored, etc.) are implemented. And USA Hockey rules are applicable.

“Over the last few years, it’s all about bragging rights,” Soltau said. “Most of the games are decided by no more than two- or three-goal margins and a lot of them end in ties. But there usually aren’t any ties in championship games.

“When you do something like this, you don’t want a team that comes in and loses 10-0. I talk to coaches and ask them to rate the skill levels of their players. My daughter was 13 when she first played in the tournament, but she was aggressive and skated well so she fit comfortably on the 19-U team.”

Not surprisingly, many girls are repeat participants — and for understandable reasons.

“This will be the third year my daughter’s participated in the tournament and I hope she continues to do so for many more,” said Sandi Sakry, the team rep for Wisconsin’s South Central Freeze. “All of the girls come together to play without any pressure to win and there isn’t a rivalry. It’s all about having fun. The girls love to meet the girls they’ve played against all season. They actually remember each other throughout the year as well. I’ve seen my daughter talking with girls from an opposing team after a game only to find out they were on the same Thunderfest team. Not only is it a great way for girls to learn from each other, but it’s also an opportunity for them to see different styles of coaching as well as playing, which they can incorporate into their own playing styles.”

Coaches from various associations — both in and outside of Wisconsin — volunteer to coach and, again, many are “repeaters.”

While trophies aren’t presented to championship teams, each girl receives a jersey as a memento.

“Each year we have a cool logo and it’s tweaked so we have a different style,” said Soltau, who noted that Organic Valley has been the tournament’s sole sponsor since its inception. “Many of the girls still have the jerseys hanging on the walls in their bedrooms.”

Obviously, for girls who’ve participated in several Thunderfests, this might not leave room for anything else to be hung on their walls.

“My daughter has been to the Thunderfest every year since 2004,” said Sue Levetzow, who is associated with the Ice Wolves from the Mt. Horeb and Dodgeville, Wis., area. “She’s made friends with girls she’s played with over the years and ‘talks’ to them online at times and looks forward to meeting up with them each year at tournaments.

“She’s played side-by-side with many of the girls from places such as Viroqua, and playing against them in their conference now, still elicits friendly talks after the school competition is over.”

Soltau, for her part, still gets a kick out of watching girls who are making their initial appearance in the tournament.

“It’s absolutely amazing to watch the transformation in girls who have never been here before,” she said. “They come in a little timid and unsure about playing with girls they don’t know. But after the first game, they’ve already bonded and by the end of the third game you can hardly believe they just met the day before.

“I always smile as I watch them exchange phone numbers and addresses and say how they can’t wait until next year. It leaves each girl with a positive attitude about hockey. No matter where life takes us we remember certain things that got us to where we are. I truly believe this tournament sends girls away with much more than a trophy ever could give them. That’s why after nine years it’s still going strong.”

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.