RANGELEY – The ice rinks are ready. Lodging is booked. And the tent is on the way for this weekend’s second annual New England Pond Hockey Festival on Haley Pond in Rangeley.

“It’s bigger and better,” organizer, Linda Sikes said Tuesday.

There are 20 teams compared to eight last year, 120 hockey players compared to 48, and six rinks compared to four, she said.

Players from around New England take to the ice from 9 a.m to 4 p.m.. on Saturday for some good old-fashioned pond hockey.

An overall 3 acres of Haley Pond has been cleared by volunteers, and 2 acres of that will be used for the approximately 150- by 75-foot-long rinks and lanes in between, Sikes said.

There will be a tent set up for players, along with a food court area.

Nonprofit groups including Cub Scouts, The Giving Tree of Rangeley, and the Little Mountain School will furnish food including chili, chowder, hot dogs, hamburgers and other items, Sikes said.

Hockey players are scheduled to take a break at 11 a.m. Saturday for opening ceremonies. The American, Canadian and Maine flags will be skated in by Rangeley students who will circle the players, and the national anthems will be performed.

Teams will have six players, with four on the ice at once playing another team. Games on the six rinks will go on simultaneously. The games are 40 minutes long, played in 20 minute halves.

Each team is guaranteed a minimum of three games on Saturday with consolation and championship rounds scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Sunday. The tournament is expected to conclude about noon.

Last year’s festival was a tremendous success, Sikes said, and she’s looking forward to the same again this year.

“We’re expecting a larger audience,” she said, and has planned food and parking with that in mind.

People can get to Haley Pond by following Main Street to City Cove Realty where the entrance is, she added.

Organizers drilled one place on the pond Monday and it was 24 inches thick, she said. The ice thickness runs from 18 to 24 inches, she added.

Headquarters for the event will be at Rangeley Inn with a tent at Haley Pond.

More information on the tournament may be found on the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce Web site www.rangeleymaine.com or call Sikes at 491-6566.