Let me begin by saying last year I attended the Olympic Festival when it was in San Antonio. In addtion to men's tournement (more on that later) they also had a pair of exhibition games between the U.S. and Canada Women team. If anybody is near St. Louis I recommend that they go not just to the hockey but to any events they can. Like Justin said the Olympic Festival is an event developed by the U.S. Olympic Committee to develop the best young athletes in the country for future Olympic competition. Each sport's governing body invites athletes to participate and they athletes are assigned to a team. Useally based on where they live. The four teams are North, South, East and West. In the case of hockey where there is a lack of talent out side of the North and East the coaches draft the teams prior to the tournement. Each sport at the festival has its own criteria and purpose for participating, but one the the purposes of the U.S. Amauter Hockey Association is to choose memebers of the U.S. National Jr. Team who will play in the World Jr. Championships. Because of this there are no players over the age of 20 in the Olympic Festival, however you will see the best college and Jr. A players that this country has. The hockey tournement format is round robin. After the three games the two teams with the best record play for the gold and silver, while the other two teams play for the bronze. David