The ice hockey tournament in Vitebsk will be the final stage of preparation for the Belarusian Championship

August 18, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The fifth ice hockey tournament for the Cup of the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee will be held in the regional center from August 20 to 23 with the participation of four teams, the General Director of the sports institution "Vitebsk Hockey Club" Vladimir Baseko told a BELTA correspondent. This year, "Khimik"-SKA (Novopolotsk), Minsk "Keramin" and "Shinnik" from Bobruisk will visit the hosts of the ice rink, HC "Vitebsk". All tournament participants consider the games in Vitebsk as the final stage of preparation for the Belarusian championship, which starts on September 3, Vladimir Baseko noted. First, the teams will hold a single-round tournament, the results of which will determine the participants of the matches for first and third places. Then, in playoff games, the winner and prize-winners of the tournament will be determined. In addition to the main awards - the Cup of the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee and cups for second and third places - valuable prizes will be awarded to the best players of the tournament in the nominations "Goalkeeper", "Defender", "Forward", as well as the best scorer of the Cup. In addition, after each match during the hockey marathon, the best players of the teams will be honored. The hosts plan to organize the final of the fifth draw in a colorful way, with special effects and other "highlights". The fact is that in January 2010, Vitebsk will host all the stars of Belarusian hockey, they will hold a traditional match meeting in the Ice Palace. In this regard, it was decided to hold the final match of the Cup of the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee as a kind of rehearsal for the upcoming hockey show, Vladimir Baseko said. -0-