Anyone who is able to run and hold a hockey stick is invited to take part in a street hockey tournament which will feature cash prizes, good-natured competition and a fundraiser for kids with diabetes.
“We’re hoping to make a big event out of it – we just have to get some teams entered!” said Kevin Speidelsbach, one of the organizers of the event. Speidelsbach stresses that even those who have never played hockey before will have a blast in this tournament, which will go on all weekend during the Grenfell Centennial Celebrations.
“We just want to get the word out that it’s for everybody. We’re advertising it from age 12 and up, and it can be a team of grandmas, girls, guys – whatever! It’s not like you have to be a competitive hockey player to play. We just want to have some fun.”
They are hoping to get up to sixteen teams, “But we will run a tournament with less,” Speidelsbach added. A minimum of four players are needed for the four-on-four tournament, though seven or so would be ideal.
“It would be nice if you could switch off and have a rest during the game,” Speidelsbach explained.
Viterra and the Grain Services Union are sponsoring the event, and will likely be donating prizes, which will be handed out throughout the event.
In addition to the games, the group is also holding raffles for juvenile diabetes, featuring an Andy Fantuz jersey and a Regina Pats jersey among other goodies.
Speidelsbach’s son Tyler played on the winning team in the CBC Hockey Night in Canada Street Hockey Tournament in Regina last summer, which tweaked his interest in bringing a similar, though less competitive, tournament to Grenfell.
Any money raised above and beyond the prize money awarded will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“If things go good we might even turn this into an annual event,” Speidelsbach said.
Anyone who is interested in signing up for street hockey can register at the Town of Grenfell site: www.grenfell.ca.
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