CBC-Sports

A few good men step up for Canadian women's hockey

October 29, 2009 01:54 PM | Posted by   Cassie Campbell  

With the Olympic Games in Vancouver coming up in just over 100 days, I wanted to take the opportunity to recognize some great supporters of women’s hockey - a group of businessmen who have made a difference in the lives of 26 Canadian players.

Last Saturday night, a dinner was hosted at the Calgary home of Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson. Guests included the 26 current members of the national women’s hockey team, who are training full-time in Calgary and vying for a position on the final roster of this year’s women’s Olympic team. These players have been training extremely hard during centralization in Calgary this year, and will continue to train as February nears.

The team was surprised this particular evening by Tom Bitove and Pat McEleney, who represented the other board members from the Telus Going For Gold golf tournament. This particular event has taken place the last three years at the exclusive Red Tail Golf Course outside of London, Ont. This golf tournament raised $260,000 over that three-year span. Every year it has tremendous support and the familiar faces of some of the key executives from Boston Pizza, Kinross Gold, GMP Securities, The Keg, Cara Restaurants, MLSE, Red Bull Canada and others.

What is so special about this golf event and this dinner last Saturday was that Pat and Tom proudly announced that 100 per cent of all money raised was being donated directly to all 26 players who are competing for a spot on the 2010 women’s Olympic hockey team!

It was a surprise to all the players, except for Jennifer Botterill and Jayna Hefford, who attended the event all three years and knew that the money was being raised for them and their teammates.

Each player was presented with a cheque for $10,000 and when the announcement was made the entire room went silent unsure if the announcement was for real. McEleney, who represented the golf tournament’s board, which also consisted of Peri Luel (XMC Marketing), Viti Gomes (NIKE Golf), and Tom Bitove (Hockey Canada Foundation) presented each player with their cheque. It was an emotional moment for all involved.

“I can tell you that Saturday night was a very special moment in my life – I didn’t truly understand the impact this money would have – I was taken back to say the least,” McEleney told me.

There is no question these funds will help alleviate some of the costs and personal sacrifices that come with moving away from home to train in Calgary for eight months to compete at the Olympic Games.

“This money really helps to eliminate some of the financial stress that we have as athletes. It really means a lot to all the girls on the team and it also will make a difference to our families who we all want there at the Olympics,” said veteran women’s hockey player Jayna Hefford.

The idea to raise the money for the team really stemmed from Olympics past where both Molson as well as then-Molson president Dan O’Neill and his wife Lise personally stepped up to give the women’s players funding to assist with their training. In 2002, it started out as a $10,000 donation, which quickly was doubled by O’Neill after the team won gold in Salt Lake City. He and his wife then personally donated money for the 2006 Olympic year.

Getting public recognition was never the reason for helping out the team. It was about being part of a group that was simply trying to do the right thing and fuel the passion of aspiring Olympic athletes. The right thing they did and I wanted to make sure that their support doesn’t go unnoticed! Thanks to each of you.

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