Fate Of Pond Hockey Championships Being Decided This Week

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- This week, organizers of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships are supposed to decide what to do about the event given the unseasonably warm weather.

The championships are scheduled to begin in less than a month, on Jan. 14, 2016, on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. But the ice is nowhere near ready.

Organizers say they need 10 inches to support the players, spectators and heavy equipment. So officials say they're considering different locations, changing the date or continuing play on just six inches of ice without allowing spectators or rink resurfacing equipment on the lake.

"We want to do everything we can to not cancel it. People have asked, 'Are you able to move to a different location?' which the challenge with that is we have 25 rinks we place out there so the weather is not much different in Minnesota anywhere," Jim Dahline with the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships said.

Organizers say no matter what, the tournament will not be indoors.