Over 20 years ago the Mattawa Figure Skating Club was looking for a new idea to help raise funds for their small but dedicated club. To say the idea of hosting a Family Hockey Tournament took root would be an understatement. “This year is our 23rd annual event,” says Lucie Desrochers, who has co-ordinated the tournament and been involved with the skating club for years. “It’s a great fundraiser for our group, averaging about $2,000 a year for our club.”
Money raised at the tourney — and yes, you do have to be related by blood to play on one of the teams — helps offset the club’s ice fees, coaching fees and day-to-day operating costs. To be part of the action where big skaters help little skaters, you’ll need to register by Friday, Oct. 17. The cost per team is $400, which guarantees players three games, entry to the dance on the Saturday night and a warm-fuzzy feeling for knowing they’re helping others pursue their toe-pic passion. The finals will be played on the Sunday afternoon. “We get between 12 and 16 teams,” says Desrochers. “Players have to be 19 and older, and it’s not just a tourney for the men. We get women out playing as well.”
Way back when the tournament fi rst started, people did need to be from one family, hence the moniker. But Desrochers notes they’ve had to bend the rules just a bit. “Now as long as people are related to the husband or the wife — to one of the principals on the team — they can play together.”
The Mattawa Figure Skating Club, of which Desrochers is the current president, got the idea for the fundraiser from Astorville, who’d been holding a successful tourney like this for years. “It’s been great for the club, and it’s a really fun day for the families,” says Desrochers. “Our club is small with about 30 members, so fundraising is important. While our skaters are mainly girls, we do have some boys on the squad. In fact, lots of boys join our entry level to learn the proper way to skate before they move into hockey.”
If you haven’t played hockey in awhile, this might be just the thing to get you up and dusting off the blades. If hockey’s not your thing but shaking your booty is, stop by the dance on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the community hall. “Players get in for free, but there’s a nominal fee at the door for those who’d like to come in just for the dance. There’s going to be entertainment and a cash bar,” says Desrochers.
Aside from the winning team getting bragging rights as ‘The Wikkidest Hockey Family In Mattawa,’ (okay, we made that up, but if our team won we’d surely go around town bragging) Molson is also a sponsor of this event so there are prizes up for grabs. www.mattawafi gureskating.ca