same year that the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, attended the World Pond Hockey Championships, dropping the puck to signify the official start of that year's tournament. Description The World Pond Hockey Championship tournament is played in a four-on-four, round robin format. The 20 outdoor rinks allow for 40 teams to play at any given time. All competing teams consist of 4 players ages 19 and over, but they are permitted to have a fifth member in case of injury or illness. Every team is guaranteed at least five 30-minute games over the course of the four-day tournament. The playoff round starts on the Sunday of every tournament weekend, which features the best 32 teams from the previous rounds. The Pond Hockey Championships feature some untraditional rules and notable differences in gameplay as compared to traditional hockey games. The nets that players must score on are 6 feet wide, but only 10 inches high, so all shots must be kept low to the ice. This is to ensure that pucks cannot be shot into one of the other closely situated rinks and disrupt games or spectators. There are no goalies, and players have to be over the centre line of the rink in order to score. There is also no traditional penalty box in this tournament; if any penalties are called on a member of one team, the opposing team automatically is awarded one goal. Tournaments See also U.S. Pond Hockey Championships Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships References External links World Pond Hockey Championships homepage Ice hockey tournaments in Canada Pond hockey Victoria County, New Brunswick Sport in New Brunswick Recurring sporting events established in 2002 2002 establishments in New Brunswick Pond