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Whitehorse has pulled out as host of the Tier 3 midget hockey championship scheduled for March, Whitehorse Minor Hockey president Carl Burgess said Monday.

Burgess explained there鈥檚 just not enough local midget players in town to support a host team, so it was decided to inform BC Hockey last month that it was pulling out.

It鈥檚 something of a double-edge sword, Burgess explained.

He said there鈥檚 not enough players because 13 of the Yukon鈥檚 top midgets are playing with teams Outside, so they鈥檙e not eligible to play for the Yukon come time for the provincial championships.

鈥淭hat is why we have no team,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all gone.鈥�

Burgess said the demise of the opportunity to host a B.C. provincial championship rises out of the solid quality of the local hockey program.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a victim of its own success.鈥�

Players here are looking for more exposure to higher competition and the higher competition is looking to the Yukon for more talent, particularly the emerging academic leagues that are offering new opportunities for elite 15-year-olds, he said.

Burgess said Whitehorse Minor is facing the challenge of finding some way to offer locally what the younger midgets seek Outside.

The discussion is ongoing, and there are a couple of neat ideas but they鈥檙e not yet ready for prime time review, he said.

Head coach Martin Lawrie looks after both the competitive midget and bantam Mustang programs and has first-hand experience with the recruitment efforts coming out of B.C. and Alberta, because he gets the phone calls.

The Bantam Mustangs just finished playing a exhibition series of five Tier 1 games 鈥� the Yukon is categorized as Tier 3 鈥� and finished with four wins and one loss, he pointed out. He said there are players on that team who鈥檝e already been identified by recruiters from Outside.

Lawrie will also be coaching the Under-16 team heading to Prince George next month to represent the Yukon at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. See story above.

Seven of the players on that squad are currently down south, four of them playing in the elite 15 league, he said.

Lawrie said in November alone they lost a midget to a Junior B league in Saskatchewan and two more to the elite 15 league.

The minor hockey league president said they鈥檙e hoping to come up with something by next fall to keep the younger midgets at home.

Burgess said it would be good for the local hockey program and for families who would prefer to stay together for at least another year.

Whitehorse, he emphasized, is not the only hometown feeling the recruitment pinch.

Others are seeing the same trends, he said.

For now, it鈥檚 unfortunate they鈥檝e had to cancel as hosts of the Tier 3 championship, Burgess said.

He said there was plenty of support from corporate sponsors, the city, the Yukon government and even BC Hockey was pulling for Whitehorse.

It is possible to host a tournament without a team, but without a team it wasn鈥檛 possible to put together an organizing committee ready to dedicate the hundreds of hours required to put on an event that would have seen 11 teams visit Whitehorse from across B.C., Burgess said.

He said there are always volunteers ready to pitch in but without a host team Whitehorse Minor Hockey just couldn鈥檛 get a committee of volunteers ready to put in the 10, 20 and 30 hours a week.