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Friendship the benefits of two year’s fundraising
On March 16, a group of 10 hockey players aged 11 to 14-years-old from Cranbrook and Kimberley embarked on an epic adventure travelling to Australia for the 2015 International Friendship Hockey Tournament.
The trip started in Sydney where they visited the Taronga Zoo, Sydney Opera house, Harbour Bridge and hung out in Hyde Park before they boarded a bus to Newcastle.
Newcastle hosted 10 hockey teams from around the world to play for nine days.
The tournament originally started in Japan in 1989 and has been hosted every second year rotating between Japan, Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand.
The goal of the tournament is to share the game of hockey in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. Points are awarded based on sportsmanship, goodwill, team-building and the sharing of knowledge about the game.
The players were billeted by local families and over the nine days lifelong friendships were formed. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience for these young boys.
The players spent two years fundraising for the trip holding raffles, bottle drives, hot dog sales, bagging groceries and puck tosses at the Kootenay ICE games.
This trip would not be possible without the support of the community and local business sponsors; RDEK, Brothers Insurance, Players Bench, Cranbrook Arby’s, Eastside Mario’s, Kootenay Insurance Services, Pages Book Emporium, EKC, Hillcrest Hyundai, Spring Honda, Premier Plumbing & Heating Ltd, Dr. Spowart, Fiddler Construction, Denham Ford, The Bedroom, Cranbrook Dodge, Western Financial Group, H & R Block, BMO, Geoff’s Construction, Steeples Construction Ltd, USW Local 1-405, Kootenay Marine, Pepsi Cola, Kootenay Chiropractic, Cranbrook Vision Care, Landmark Columbia #5, Superstore 1553, Pharmasave, Dr. S.E. Harris, East Kootenay Realty, Kootenay Ice Hockey Club, Carpet Superstore, The Drive/B104, Rella & Paolini, Bridge Interiors, Westland Insurance, Mr. Tire, Redding & Associates, Eagle Plumbing Ltd., Kimberley Family Dental, Wildstone Golf Course, Wolseley, FB Drilling, Kokanee Ford/Kemlee Equipment, Cranbrook Pest Control, Garden Consulting Ltd, Wag ”n” Tails, R.W. Anderson Contracting, Kimberley Electric, Columbia Recycling Ltd., New Dawn Developments, Melody Motors Ltd., Econobuilt Contracting, Slim Pickens, Wasa Lions Club, Chalet Chevrolet, Summit Construction, Mardis Forest Products and the countless community members who gave their change, bottles and support.
On behalf of the players and their families we thank you for all your support.
Lead image: Cranbrook Colts – Back Row: Norm Anderson (Coach), Jordan Simpson, Mike Ridler (Assistant), Rob Renaud (Assistant). Front: Ethan Englesby, Nathan Ridler, Michael Yonkman, Brady Anderson, Logan Beable, Ben Verigin, Logan Englesby, James Johnson, Ryan Renaud.
Friendship Hockey 2015 Team and Family
