MINNEAPOLIS — The site of the eighth annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships is about to start taking shape in Minneapolis.

Construction was scheduled to begin Wednesday on the giant warming tent and 26 rinks on Lake Nokomis. Work will continue through Saturday.

The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships bills itself as the largest pond hockey tournament in the country.

Organizers said pond hockey celebrates the way the sport is meant to be played — outdoors in the cold, with players using a shovel to clear the ice. Teams compete in the USPHC to have their names inscribed on the Golden Shovel.

This year’s tournament runs Jan. 18-20.