Road Hockey Moves Matter

THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – If you are 9-14 and want to join Team Staal it is time to share your best road hockey moves.

Now that the snow has melted, the countdown to summer is on. Today at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, representatives from both the Staal Foundation Open, presented by Tbaytel, and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation announced a much anticipated event that will make the weeks leading up to this year’s tournament that much more exciting.

Announced this morning were details on how children residing in Northwestern Ontario can enter a brand-new contest for a chance to play with the Staals as part of #TeamStaal2016 at the Pandora Intercity Summer Classic; a new road hockey event to be held on July 11 at 11 a.m. at Whitewater Golf Course, directly following the Opening Ceremonies of the Staal Foundation Open. “The contest is made up of two parts,” explained Lindsay Doran, e-Philanthropy Officer, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation. “In the first part, we’re asking children aged 9 to 14 to submit a video of them showing off their very best street hockey move. This portion of the contest is open now and will run until May 23 at 9 a.m. A gallery of videos is available for viewing on www.staalopen.ca and the top 20 highest voted entrants will move on to the second portion of the contest.”

Continued Doran, “On May 25, the fundraising challenge begins! The top 20 highest voted entrants will have an online fundraising page created for them by the Health Sciences Foundation and they need to fundraise as much as they can for the Northern Cancer Fund. For every $20 raised, the child will receive one ballot for the chance to play with the Staals. The more money raised, the better the chances.”

On June 10, the Health Sciences Foundation will announce #TeamStaal2016. The top 3 fundraisers are guaranteed a spot to play in the Pandora Intercity Summer Classic with the Staals, while the additional 2 spots will be randomly drawn from the ballots collected by the remaining 17 fundraisers.

“We are really looking forward to the Pandora Intercity Summer Classic Road Hockey Game in Thunder Bay at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel and the opportunity to have local kids play on Team Staal. I think sometimes we forget what we thought of hockey as kids and how exciting it was to meet our hockey heroes. Now having kids of my own, it’s always important to me and my brothers to give these kids memories and give back to our community,” said Eric Staal of the New York Rangers. “This will be an experience these kids won’t forget. We look forward to seeing all of the road hockey moves in the contest submissions and we challenge kids to really show us what they’ve got.”

“The Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel is thrilled to partner with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation on the initiative announced today,” said Mike Tallari, Staal Foundation Open, Director of Corporate Development. “This year’s event is really about creating a space where everyone can play. The #TeamStaal2016 contest is a once in a lifetime opportunity for kids to meet and play with their hockey heroes and we can’t wait to see who gets drafted to the teams.”

Full contest details, including how to enter and vote, are available at www.staalopen.ca/teamstaalTeam Staal.

Kids from Thunder Bay and the surrounding region between the ages of 9 and 14 can enter for a chance to be on #TeamStaal2016 and play in the most exciting road hockey game of the year – the Pandora Intercity Summer Classic at this year’s Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel.