Ball hockey took over Maht Mahs on the last weekend of January, drawing 15 teams for a fundraising tournament to help seven individuals fighting cancer.
Ten men’s and five women’s teams took part in the eighth cancer benefit tournament on Tseshaht territory, a ball hockey event that took place annually until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. The fundraising tournament returned last year to help those struggling with the disease.
“Off the top of my head, $60,000 fundraised over the years given out to all stages of people fighting cancer,” said tournament organizer Shae Doiron.
This year seven people with diverse ages as young as 10 years old stand to benefit from the tournament, which collects revenue from team entry fees. A number of donations helped to make the event happen, including goods from Tseshaht Market, free use of the Tseshaht First Nation’s Maht Mahs gym and help from the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.
Several Port Alberni teams are participating, plus competitive squads from Port Hardy, Alert Bay and the Chilliwap Warriors from east of the Lower Mainland.
Doiron’s father Chuck signed up to play with his grandson Kayden on Sandra’s Rack Pack, a local team named after the late Sandra Lambert. Shae is also a referee and playing on one of the Port Alberni teams in the women’s division.
“We’re just a bunch a free agents,” she said. “Ladies who have either played against each other, played with each other over a span of 25 years.”
Scheduled Friday, Jan. 30 to Sunday, Feb. 1, the ball hockey tournament has a double elimination format, meaning that all teams play at least two games.
