This weekend is a big weekend for Cochrane Ringette, as they host their 3rd annual Cochrane Classic.

"We are entertaining a total of 24 teams, 8 of those being local Cochrane teams," according to Jan Thue, tournament organizer with Cochrane Ringette. "The tournament starts Friday at 9 in the morning, and it will go until Sunday at 5:00"

Thue says that teams will be coming from all over Alberta, including Fort Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, and Calgary. They're expecting around 325 athletes, and 1000 visitors to Cochrane thanks to to the tournement over the weekend. An expected 48 games will be played with teams ranging in ages 7-13.

"It's our only fundraiser. We're a small organization, we only have 104 athletes in our oranization for ringette," says Thue. "We'd like to continue to fundraise to bring funds down and provide technical support in Coach mentoring and Goalie mentoring to attract more girls into the sport."

The community has stepped up over the past few years as well helping the tournament grow, including the Cochrane Winterfest, which is held on the same weekend.

"It's gotten better every single year, from our community through sponsorship or donation for our tournament for fund raising, extremely well. We have seen a rise in support, in dollars donated, as well as product donated."

For more information on the tournament, check out http://cochraneringette.com/.