“They left a great project to jump in and take on”
Most current Sandy Hill residents won’t remember the Sandy Hill Winter Classic being an annual tradition. The event was started in 2014 by U of O alumni Evan Trofimchuk and was hosted each year until 2020 at the Sandy Hill outdoor rink (ODR), located at Somerset St. and Sweetland Ave., behind the Sandy Hill Community Centre.
When Trofimchuk graduated in 2015, Mathieu Hudon took over organizing the event, and the yearly tournament was continued until 2020. COVID-19 forced the event to go into hibernation, but thanks to the U of O’s Psychology Students’ Association (PSA), teams of eight and a goalie will flock back to the rink in February.
Mikaleigh Cairns, Vice President of Philanthropy and Activism with the PSA, talked about the hiatus. “The cohort of students that [were] taking it on graduated, and then the community just didn’t really know about it,” the third-year told the Fulcrum. “[Trofimchuk] graduated and passed it on to a group of students, and then they also graduated and it kind of fell off.”
Cairns immediately understood that the new residents of Sandy Hill were missing out on the charity event, and decided to kickstart the process to bring it back. “I haven’t been previously involved with the tournament, I just kind of stumbled upon it last year, when I was looking at hours for the rink, wanting to go with my friends.”
All proceeds from the event will be passed on to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, just like previous renditions. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for the cancer centre in previous years.
Trofimchuk provided the new organizers with resources and the event’s social media accounts to ensure the event’s legacy carries on. “They left a great project to jump in and take on. We definitely want to bring sponsors within the community, and being able to point to the previous success of the event is great in terms of building the event,” Cairns added.
The organizer admitted there have been discussions about moving the event indoors if weather is not permitting, but understands the importance of keeping it outdoors. “I was very dead set on keeping it at the ODR, although I don’t love the uncertainty that comes with that. It really is supposed to be a community event. It’s free for anyone to come watch, hopefully we get some engagement from families in the community.”
Cairns spoke about expanding the event so there are activities for everyone, not just hockey.“I’m trying to get some cool attractions and stuff like that. And we’ve connected with some cool sponsors, so we’ll have raffles and things like that going on. Hopefully we’re going to do a bar night as well, so lots of things going on beyond just hockey.”
The event has been substituted for a skills competition and postponed for weather in the past, but Cairns is hopeful that they can battle the warm conditions this year and make a go of it. “Hopefully that’s not the case for us. We’re crossing our fingers, and we have a backup date as well.”
The date for the tournament has been scheduled for Feb. 3, but is subject to change. For more information, visit the tournament’s Instagram or Facebook page, or email the organizers. Start getting your teams together — what’s better than a little outdoor hockey and friendly competition for a good cause?
