Hockey Alberta Foundation Golf Classic Set To Tee Off At Stewart Creek Golf Club

The two day event kicks off Monday evening with a reception in support of the Every Kid, Every Community Fund.  The night will include a silent and live auction with an assortment of NHL memorabilia, Golf and accommodations in Osoyoos, BC, suite game tickets to the “Battle of Alberta”, tickets to the Winter Classic in Detroit and more up for grabs.

“The Every Kid, Every Community project is designed to give kids who aren’t currently registered in hockey the ability to get active in hockey,” said the Hockey Alberta Foundation’ Executive Director, Scott Robinson. “The funds raised at this event are directed towards programs and groups whose goals are to get children involved in the game.”

This year’s guest speaker will be the co-host of The Big Show on The Fan 960, Bryn Griffiths, who will speak at the Every Kid, Every Community reception.

On Tuesday morning, the golf tournament will get underway with a shotgun start at 9:00am followed by a BBQ dinner where tournament and hole prizes will be awarded courtesy of the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s generous sponsors.

“Sport is such an important part of teaching kids about the habits that create great lives,” said ATB Investor Services President, Sheldon Dyck. “Even though most kids will never make a living playing sports, the lessons they learn about teamwork, collaboration, and leadership will help them in whatever career they choose.”

Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers), Zach Boychuk (Carolina Hurricanes), Thomas Hickey (Los Angeles Kings), Ray Bennett (St. Louis Blues, Assistant Coach) and Mel Davidson (Canadian National Women’s Team, Head Coach) will be among this year’s celebrity guests.

“We’re really proud of the hockey talent that comes out of Alberta,” said Hockey Alberta’s Senior Manager of Hockey Development, Tim Leer. “The Golf Classic is also a chance to reunite with Team Alberta alumni and other elite members of the hockey community and share their experiences.”

Over three days of competition from July 27th and 29th , eight teams from around the province met in Lethbridge to compete for inline supremacy at the Alberta Summer Games. The eight zones consisted of the Sunny South, Big Country, Calgary, Parkland, Black/Gold region, Peace country, Edmonton, and the Northeast. All of the teams were formed from regional try-out camps and 92 athletes were able to travel and participate in the Inline Hockey event.

In the final game the Zone 6 athletes from Edmonton were able to outlast the team from Zone 4 - Parkland (Red Deer area) winning the game 6-2. The game was very fast and filled with great moments. It was a true testament to the sport. In the Bronze medal game the Zone 3 team from Calgary beat the Black Gold Zone 5 squad to take home third place.

“Our goal at this tournament was to re-energize the sport for the kids who were eligible to play and to facilitate a good experience that they will remember for many years to come,” said South Regional Development coordinator for Hockey Alberta, Troy Muspratt. “We were able to recruit some ice players to participate and we hope the inline sport will be able to continue to gain momentum and have some traction in all zones in the province. We saw some excellent skill here in Lethbridge and the goaltending was shockingly good even though some of the scores were high.”

Inline hockey is played on inline roller skates with its own unique puck within the confines of a hockey rink or indoor soccer pitch. Games are played four-on-four plus goalies and there are no line violations like icings and off sides. Penalties are similar to ice hockey, but body checking is not allowed at any level even in international play.  The equipment used is the same as ice hockey with the exception of the skates and pants. Hockey pants are allowed, but most players prefer inline pants.