The submissions are in, and now it’s up to the public to pick the winner of the first B.C. Eastern Regional Pond Hockey Championships Centre Ice Art Contest.

Run jointly with Columbia Valley Arts, the contest challenged area artists to put together pieces in a variety of media, celebrating winter sports on Lake Windermere. The winner of this year’s competition will be featured in the logo for the 2013 championships.

Pynelogs Cultural Centre gallery manager Jami Scheffer says response to the inaugural competition has been good, with pieces coming from artists of all ages.

“I do have one video from an 11 year-old which is so cool,” she says. “And then I’ve got several art pieces.”

Scheffer says the goal of the contest was to promote a fusion of sports and culture, and she thinks the artists have succeeded in that goal.

“Paula Cravens is one of our local artists, a very active drawing artist. And one of the things she uses a lot is, she’ll take nostalgic photos, usually local, and paint them,” she says.

“So she has five or six pieces that are old, nostalgic ice skating and hockey images she’s painted. They’re amazing. And Scott Bellows has done a big metal piece of a hockey player, it’s absolutely gorgeous.”

With pieces so varied, Scheffer says she thinks voters will have a hard time narrowing down their choice for number one.

“Art is so varied so it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be hard,” she says. “It’ll just have to be your favourite piece.”

To vote for a favourite piece, visit bcpondhockey.ca and click on the Centre Ice Art Contest tab. Voting is open until January 31.

Once the contest closes, visitors to Pynelogs will have a chance to take in the art in person as well.

A show featuring all the contest submissions opens at the lakeside gallery on January 31 and runs through February 4.