Open Ice’s March Break hockey camp at Ted Reeve brings young players together to participate in the sport
By JESSICA SHACKLETON
Open Ice is back at Ted Reeve Community Arena in East Toronto this week for a March Break camp.
The program provides a hockey experience to the children of families who may not otherwise be able to take part. All of the equipment and ice time is provided to the young participants at no cost to their families.
The initiative was founded by Grade 10 Upper Canada College student Andrew Adair. With help from fellow UCC students, he is spending his March Break on the ice with the young players at Ted Reeve as part of Open Ice’s Hockey FUNdamentals camp.
On Monday, March 16, Adair said he and was happy with how the camp’s first on-ice session went.
On Day One of the camp, Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford joined former National Hockey League player Cameron Gaunce to take questions from the young participants.
Gaunce, who played for a number of teams in the NHL including the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning, is now a sports analyst with TSN. He spent all of Monday with the Open Ice participants.
For some of the young players, it was their first time getting out on the ice.
“Everybody started like this, just how you’re starting right now. Lacing them up and getting out there for the first time,” Bradford told them.
“Andrew’s initiative to bring people together and give them access to ice time, equipment, coaching, and professionals is something that’s truly special. I hope whether you pursue hockey as something you want to do on a regular basis or if you just want to learn and grow from taking those first strokes on the ice, building your resilience and your character, I trust this camp will be something that you remember forever.”
About 15 kids are participating in this week’s camp. They get three hours of ice time a day, plus dryland training and other off-ice activities.
Sports teach kids about working together, trying their best, and having fun, said Gaunce.
When asked by one of the participants what his favourite thing about hockey was, he said: “My favourite thing about hockey is not being good at hockey, it’s spending time together with friends. I would imagine you didn’t all know each other before showing up here this morning, but by the end of the week, you’re going to spend a bunch of time together, make some memories, and hopefully that’s something you can continue going forward.”
Hockey FUNdamentals also hosted a successful camp during Winter Break (Christmas Holidays).
To learn more about Open Ice and how to support the project that makes hockey more widely accessible to youngsters, please visit https://open-ice.org/
