The following article appeared in "The Hockey Post", published by the Canadian Adult Recreation Hockey Association.  It is used with permission.

 

Hunter, D. (November, 2001). A prince of a league.  The Hockey Post, pp22-23.  Ottawa: CARHA National Office. 

A  PRINCE  OF  A  LEAGUE

by Dawn Hunter

Ron Epp, past president of the Prince George Oldtimers Hockey Association, is very proud of his league, and rightly so. This past season, they proved that oldtimers hockey ben­efits more than just the participating players.

In July 2001, the City of Prince George, British Columbia, hosted the B.C. Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games. According to David Wharrie, co-chair of the event, the Games were a qualifier for the Canadian National games.

"We needed to raise money and came up with the idea of having companies, individuals, and organizations sponsor individual athletes by drafting them," says Wharrie. "Each participating sponsor paid $500 per athlete, and they could draft as many athletes as they wanted."

For Epp and his league, this was a match made in heaven. "We donate money from our hockey tournaments to charity each year, and we needed to find something that fit with our criteria." The league prefers to donate to sport organizations. "This was our first time giving to Special Olympics, and it was a great high-profile sports event."

According to their Web site at www.bcso.bc.ca/splash.html, the mission of the British Columbia Special Olympics is "to pro­vide individuals with a mental disability the opportunity to enhance their life and celebrate personal achievement through positive sport experiences," an ideal that comple­ments the mission of old timers hockey as well.

CAUGHT IN THE  DRAFT

The Games' organizers modelled their event on a profession­al sport players' draft. They held a breakfast to which all sponsors, athletes, and their families were invited. Each spon­sor was introduced, and they in turn announced which ath­letes they were drafting (sponsors were randomly assigned to participants). The kids went on stage, received a shirt with the Special Olympics logo and the sponsor's logo on it, and had their photos taken.

 "It really created a direct relationship between sponsors and their athletes," Wharrie explains. "Most of the sponsors came to the games to cheer the athletes on, and no one left the breakfast early either."

Of the 37 local athletes that were sponsored, the Prince George Oldtimers Hockey Association drafted six, for a total donation of $3000. "We are very proud of our contribution," beams Epp. "The only other organization to donate more than we did was Telus, who drafted seven athletes. Most other groups drafted only one or two."

"Perhaps the feelings of the day were best summed up by one young girl," Wharrie smiles. "As she was putting on her jer­sey, she broke out in a huge smile and said, 'I feel just like Wayne Gretzky!"

GIVING BACK

The tournament hosted by the Prince George Oldtimers Hockey Association is the second largest tournament in British Columbia, attracting up to 36 teams each year. And each year, the board discusses how they can best benefit a charity with the proceeds.

"We try and identify a local charity or charities that would benefit from a donation," Epp says. "For example, one year the local track and field club had their equipment destroyed by an arsonist so we helped them by donating funds for them to buy new gear."

"Another year a child of a league member was seriously ill and needed costly medical services from a U.S. specialist. We assisted the family in covering some of the medical bills. One year we made a donation to a local support group for under­privileged families, and another year we contributed to the local hospice house society."

But the donation to the Special Olympics was by far the largest single contribution that the league has made. The City of Prince George was also hosting the Air Canada Cup Midget Hockey tournament a few weeks before the Games, and the league managed to donate to that organizing committee as well.

The Prince George Oldtimers have a unique relationship with their local charities. "As part of our tournament opera­tions," Epp explains, "we use the services of local charities as well. We try to spread the dollars around and support local people." He cites a few examples:

·    St. John's Ambulance provides the medical attendants for the tournament in exchange for a donation to their organ­ization;

·    Grade 12 students from a local high school handle the scorekeeping duties in return for a donation to their Dry Grad Committee;

·    People from an organization that provides support servic­es to people with mental disabilities look after cleaning up the dressing rooms after each game in return for a dona­tion to their organization. The league gives each of them a Prince George Oldtimers T-shirt or baseball hat as an added thank you;

·    Members of the University of Northern B.C. Rugby Club serve refreshments in the lounge in return for a donation to their club.

 GETTING A LITTLE HELP, TOO

Epp does point out that many local businesses assist the league knowing that they donate their proceeds to local wor­thy causes. "BC Rail Ltd., for example, provides us with use of a semi-trailer reefer unit over the tournament weekend so that we can safely store the refreshments and keep them cold," he says. The Coast Inn of the North, a local hotel, caters the wind-up banquet and provides us with a significant discount from their regular rates. Other local businesses pro­vide door prizes for the banquet."

The league, which is comprised of six teams, has 90 full-time players (15 per team) and about 30 spares. Each team has a sponsor, many of whom have been sponsors for a number of years: Teamsport (a sporting goods store); Ten Four Contracting (a construction contractor); Sgt. O'Flaherty's (a  local pub); KPMG (a chartered accountant firm); Ken Sands Agencies (a local fuel-delivery company); and LAD Construction (a local construction company).

KEEPING IT FRESH

The league has been together for just over 25 years. It started out with six teams, and continues to operate with six teams. The founding players were playing in a recreational league, since no oldtimer league existed, but found the recreation league became too fast and too competitive, and players wanted something else.

 

Our players come from all walks of life. Prince George is a forestry-centred community, and many members work in the local pulp mills or sawmills. Several members own their own businesses, some are in the service industries, and many are professionals.

 

"I am a chartered accountant and a partner with KPMG," Epp says, "and there are other chartered accountants and certified management accountants as well. Three members are lawyers, two of whom are Supreme Court of B.C. judges. It is a pretty diverse bunch."

 

They keep the level of play fun but competitive, Epp says. "We never have a shortage of referees because the calibre of play and camaraderie on the ice make our games easy to offi­ciate."

 

The 2000 Easter Tournament saw a women's division for the first time, with four women's teams competing.

The league became involved with CARHA for two reasons: the tournament packages and the insurance available through the CARHA Membership Program. "The tournament package provided by CARHA is excellent," Epp explains. "With 28 to 36 teams in our year-end tournament, we need the tournament material to make the job more manageable."

Two other things set the league apart from other leagues (besides their charity work). One is that opposing teams change in the same dressing room. "This means that players can't take themselves too seriously," Epp laughs. "They have to change, play the game, and then shower and change again with the opposition present the whole time. Lots of ribbing goes on before, during, and after the games."

 The second is that, to keep the league fresh, they also change the mix of the players every year when setting up the teams. "Your team mates change yearly," Epp says. "After a few years, you will end up playing alongside most of the league mem­bers. When the opposing team members were your own team mates a year or two earlier, it definitely promotes a high degree of fellowship on and off the ice."

Epp's obvious enthusiasm for his league shines through when you speak with him. "In addition to helping keep the middle-aged spread at bay, it is a great way to meet new people," he says. "Whether it's new players and their spouses and signif­icant others, or out-of-town players and with the fact that many of the players are business people, networking is another benefit."

 

But the local charity groups that have been touched by the Prince George Oldtimers Hockey Association know that as long as these guys are reaping the benefits on the ice, their organizations will continue to reap them off the ice.