Georgetown shut out in bid to be Hockeyville

The judges on the new CBC reality-TV program Kraft Hockeyville 2006 didn't feel Georgetown's bid was able to make the cut as the show debuted Wednesday night. More than 450 communities across Canada submitted bids in the hopes of winning the on-line, vote-driven contest that will play out over the next couple of months. The number of contenders was whittled down to 50 at the conclusion of Wednesday evening's live broadcast from Kingston, Ont., which featured celebrities such as Hockey Night In Canada's Don Cherry and Ron MacLean. Despite early optimism by local organizers about the support for their bid, Georgetown was not named to the Central Region's list of advancing towns and cities. Ten communities in each of the five regions across the nation qualified for the next round of the contest, which will air April 12 and 19. "I think that most of the bids were from the Central Region, which made the competition tough for us, and up north they may have only had 15 bids for 10 spots," said Georgetown organizer Geraldine Hard-castle. was ringed around the boards of Memorial Arena. A CBC camera crew spent several hours filming footage for the Kraft Hockeyville show in Georgetown in early March at a giant road hockey game on the main street of downtown, buoying the confidence of organizers. A photo of that game also appeared in last Saturday's Toronto Star. One of the requirements for the 50 remaining bids is to produce a two-minute video displaying the enthusiasm and spirit of their respective hockey communities, which is due next week. Georgetown's presentation was to have featured the story of the Stone family and the support they received while their young daughter was battling cancer. "I just wish we had the opportunity to submit our video because I think people would have voted for what we were going to put in it," added Hardcastle. The community that wins the contest will get to host an NHL pre-season game this fall and be awarded $60,000 for arena and equipment upgrades. To view the list of remaining communities in contention for Hockeyville 2006 visit website www.cbchockeyville.ca