Inner city youth from three different cities gathered together for the first annual Youth for Christ (YFC) National Ball Hockey Championships. 

The youth at Winnipeg YFC, participating in ball hockey, had the chance to travel to Edmonton to compete in the first-ever YFC National Ball Hockey Championships.

"We've been talking about this for a number of years," said Jamie Wilson, YFC's ball hockey director. "Many of these boys have never been outside the province . . . we wanted to give these boys an opportunity to do something they may not get to do otherwise."

YFC organizations in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Edmonton competed in a six-game round robin, finishing with a best of three, two round playoff. Saskatoon ended up winning, beating a tired Winnipeg team 11-2 in game two.

"We see how the hockey community comes together," Wilson said, referring to hockey-related events such as the Winnipeg Whiteout and the Humboldt Broncos bush crash.

Wilson said the teams from Saskatoon and Edmonton had a chance to explore downtown Edmonton before the games started. He said the guys started talking and bonding, which made the games very competitive but also clean, with a mutual respect visible between the players.

"It's been so evident the work that God is doing in the lives of these youth," "A lot of conversations that you end up having with them on a trip like this just open your eyes to what is going on in their life.

"You get very little sleep, but it's totally worth it."

Although hockey was the reason they got together, Wilson says it's not the most important part of the trip.

The three YFC ball hockey directors are making this an annual event. They have already reached out to other YFC locations, hoping to make the tournament bigger and better.