Latest news with #streethockey
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thousands flood Bay Roberts for largest street hockey tournament in N.L.
Thousands of people rolled into Bay Roberts over the weekend for the largest street hockey tournament in Newfoundland and Labrador. It marked the seventh annual running of the Light the Lamp tournament, with nearly 270 teams from all over the province hitting the street to play hundreds of games over two days. Eddie Russell, the town's recreation director, said the first day saw 400 games alone. He estimates that at least 8,000 people passed through the tournament grounds. "It's a pretty massive event for sure," said Russell. The event grounds had 20 courts, with 18 kids playing at a time and two referees each. "It's organized chaos," said Russell. "There's so many moving pieces and it all comes together." While most of the players come for the competition, Russell said it's also a time for people to come together. "Everybody likes to win, but you make new friends, you spend time with your teammates, parents, all that stuff," he said. The championship games were gearing up when Russell spoke to CBC on Sunday. He said he was relieved that everything had gone so smoothly. "[I'm] proud to be a part of this event, part of the team and the committee, the staff, the town itself, that we could pull off such a major event," he said. Jack Norman, Ava Parsons and Mason Akerman rounded out a hometown team called the Bay Roberts Mini Stix. They said the weekend was all about the competition — but also about taking in some of the off-court activities. "[I was] trying to go hard and focusing in," Norman said. "We just played a lot of games and I had a lot of slushies," said Akerman. The squad remained focused and motivated heading into the championship games and were appreciative that the event drew so many people to their town. "It's really nice that they're coming to Bay Roberts to experience Light the Lamp," said Norman. Mayor Geoff Seymour, said the event was a great boost for his community, describing it as a "first class event." "It's an opportunity for 2,000 to 3,000 kids to get out there and enjoy two days of outdoor activity, fresh air, and exercise. That's perhaps the most important thing," he said. Not only was the tournament a hit among kids, it also brought with it an economic boost. "All these people coming into town for two days, hotels are filled, Airbnbs are filled, restaurants, takeouts, convenience stores, shopping — there is an economic spinoff that comes from it," said Seymour. Next to the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games, which took place in Bay Roberts last year, Seymour said the annual street hockey tournament is the busiest event of the year. "It's an amazing event. We've been doing this for seven years and I think it just gets better," he said. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
15-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Flin Flon evacuees gather for street hockey game organized by former Bombers captain
Families from Flin Flon gathered at a Winnipeg community centre on Sunday for a street hockey game organized by a former Flin Flon Bombers captain to bring a sense of home as the community remains evacuated due to wildfire. The northern Manitoba city of 5,000 people, located about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was ordered to leave on May 28, the same day the government declared a provincewide state of emergency. The wildfire near Flin Flin is now the largest currently burning across Manitoba. It is more than 370,000 hectares in size and still out of control, according to the province's most recent fire bulletin on Friday. On Sunday afternoon, young children and their families gathered at the River Heights Community Centre on Grosvenor Avenue for a free street hockey and soccer game. The families played alongside past and former Bombers players. Former captain Lucas Fry, who played with the hockey team between 2020 and 2023, said he wanted to organize the event to help support the community that cheered him on for years. "All these families are from Flin Flon or the surrounding areas and a lot of them I built super strong connections with in my time there," he said, as children as young as five ran around the rink, some wearing Fry jerseys. "This is just something that I wanted to put on where you can have a little bit of normalcy going on, everybody could come together for a good day and have some fun." Bombers president Travis Rideout was evacuated with the rest of the community nearly three weeks ago. "It's been a long time and you know, so much uncertainty back home. But you gotta keep the faith in everyone there that's doing their part to keep everything safe," he said. Sunday's hockey game, which featured a parade of maroon and white Bombers jerseys, brought a sense of home to Winnipeg, Rideout said. "Once you're a part of the community of Flin Flon, you're always a part of that community," he said, adding past and present residents, including former Bombers players, will always have a place in the northern Manitoba city. Fry is now a student at the University of Manitoba, but he said the connections he made during his time in Flin Flon spurred him to put on the event. He said a parent messaged him on social media, saying her child took all of their hockey gear when the family evacuated. Fry decided to put on the street hockey event to help this child, and other hockey-loving youth like them, have some fun while they're still displaced by wildfires. "When I was in Flin Flon, I saw firsthand the impact that people like myself, 19-20 year-old men could have on these kids. I saw firsthand the role model you could be for them," Fry said. "If I could just give them a day to have some fun and connect, that's all that matters to me," he said.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Kid at heart': Street hockey community rallies around coach injured in crash
James Hotchner has played and coached street hockey in a Huntersville Park for years. Hotchner has coached and played in the Charlotte Street Hockey League for some time, with much of the league's proceeds going to charity. Most recently, money raised went to help with ovarian cancer research. Advertisement 'He's the first person to raise his hand for literally anything we're doing,' Bobby Arkus with the CSHL said. 'If it's a volunteer event, James is the one raising his hand.' But a week ago, Hotchner was in an accident. And many of his friends said he is lucky to be alive. He was involved in a crash with a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 77 near exit 23. Arkus said Hotchner was flown to the hospital in Charlotte. But he doesn't remember much of what happened. 'He remembers seeing a truck coming up behind him saying, 'Oh, that's not going to be able to stop,' and from that point it wasn't able to stop and that's pretty much that last of it,' Arkus said. Advertisement READ: Eagle Scout raises money, builds butterfly garden to attract others to Sikh place of worship Hotchner survived the crash, but he is now in the hospital with 13 broken ribs, a fracture in his back and a blood clot in his neck. But he is determined and ready to play again. 'He's joking around a little bit but he's somebody that's extremely resilient,' Arkis said. 'He's one of the older guys in the league and you wouldn't know it based on seeing him play, based on how he acts, based on the kid at heart that he is.' Friends said that Hotchner hopes to leave the hospital this week. There is no timetable when he will be able to join the game again, but Arkus said Hotchner will find a way to contribute no matter what. WATCH: Eagle Scout raises money, builds butterfly garden to attract others to Sikh place of worship
