It was in 1977 that the idea for the annual Yukon Native Hockey Tournament was born.

Now, 30 years later, hundreds of hockey players will once again file in and out of the local arenas this weekend, competing in a tournament that has grown to include all ages and all abilities, in five divisions.

'Over the past 30 years, we've witnessed a really simple tournament grow into a pretty sophisticated operation,' said Steve Smith, one of the organizers of the annual event and a board member with the Yukon Indian Hockey Association (YIHA), in an interview earlier this week.

'Some people are remarking that this is the tournament for many of the sporting good stores in town. It's the tournament that people mark on their calendars.

'It's a good feeling to see that with hard work and some dedicated people, a tournament can last this long.'

Among the major changes over the past three decades, the native tournament now includes a youth division for players ages 10-13, as well as a jamboree division for those ages 14-18. There are still two adult divisions, A and B.

Females are now able to take part in the adult divisions, as of this year, and another new division, oldtimers, will make it's debut this weekend.

'For the past number of years, we've been kicking around the idea and made some attempt at an oldtimers division,' said Smith, pointing out many of the players who have been taking part in the tournament since it started are now at the age where an oldtimers division is ideal.

There will be three teams in the new division this year Ross River/Kaska, the Eagle Rock Flyers (based out of Carmacks) and Inuvik but Smith expects to see the number of teams grow in the future.

Added to the 15 squads registered in the B division, six in A, eight in youth and four in the jamboree division, that takes the total number of teams this year to 36.

In the A division, there will be a lot of familiar faces, as teams like the defending champion North Yukon Eagles, Nannock Warriors and Kaska Selects battle for supremacy.

'The Nannock Warriors have a long history,' said Smith. 'They've had their core nucleus of players over the past decade or even longer. North Yukon, they have started to really build a following.

'I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised with the Kaska Selects this year. And also, a return of the past A division champions from the Skeena River area, the team from Hazelton, B.C. Looking at their roster, there are a number of players that have played in previous tournaments, and they won the tournament a number of teams back in the late 80s and early 90s.'

With the competition as tight as it is every year, most of the A division teams work hard to recruit some Outside talent to help out. Smith said he's heard the Eagles are bringing in a couple of 'ringers', but at this point it's all speculation.

'They usually keep it under their hat, so rumours abound. We haven't seen anything as part of their official roster that would merit a media blitz. But you never know until the day they actually show up.

'They're not required to fill out a complete roster until their actual first game. The first game is really the tell-tale sign.'

Smith expects Whitehorse residents will be treated to some very entertaining games once again this year, pointing out the native tournament is one of the only times locals get to watch higher level of hockey.

The A division teams are fairly skilled, he said, as they're sort of local all-star teams.

'Then of course with the community teams, what they lack in talent, they make up for in effort and usually the scores are close. Their fans are always really active and supportive, which builds the excitement as well.'

All of the action got underway at 8:00 this morning and runs throughout the weekend at Takhini Arena and the Canada Games Centre, with the finals in all divisions scheduled for Sunday at Takhini.

As he prepared for the busy days ahead, Smith was asked what he and the rest of the YIHA board members would like to see happen over the next 30 years. Smith said one of the things they're really looking at is a reinvestment of their efforts and resources into more youth-based programs.

'Not so much that the youth will take over the tournament, but investing into coaching clinics and maybe investing into hockey schools, to continue to provide avenues for our young aboriginal kids to get into sports, and to give them an opportunity to see how far they can go in hockey.

'We may someday have our own Gino Odjick (a former aboriginal NHLer).'

Smith said YIHA also hopes they can continue to host a successful native hockey tournament over the next three decades and try to remain true to the original organizers' vision of an avenue for first nations people to get together and enjoy good hockey.

'One of the keys for the native tourney, is it really brings us together as a people.

' Once a year, we all shed all other political affiliations, first nation affiliations, and we all show up as either hockey fans or players.'