Warmth of an ice hockey tournament
Batteries charged from a weeklong Florida vacay with wife Tina last month, Paul Turner was glad to be back in familiar trappings of the Canadian winter, our cold and our ice.
What is he: crazy?
Strangely enough, Turner radiates warmth this time of year. It comes from one of the causes close to his heart: homelessness, and raising awareness about it so it becomes high priority in the social agenda. I could feel it, the warmth, sitting across a table from him for coffee and a bite to eat one morning last week. Active in social justice issues, he’s been that way for years.
He is concentrating now on Julia’s Hope Cup, a pond hockey tournament that seeks to raise awareness about homelessness in our area and the country, and also to raise funds for Hope Centre, the shelter on King Street.
The tournament started in 2006 as the Hope Cup, then became Julia’s Hope Cup in recognition of the Turners’ daughter Julia who passed in December 2011.
The Welland teenager was passionate about homelessness and helped out at Hope Centre as often as she could. The first Julia’s Hope Cup tournament was contested in 2012, just two months after her passing.
As one who spent countless hours on the pond in Chippawa Park as a kid growing up in the park neighbourhood, Turner thinks of the tournament and its related attractions as the ideal signature- event fundraiser for Hope Centre, where he sits as a member of the board.
“It’s good to bring back a little of the tradition shared by a whole whack of us, we grew up on that ice playing pond hockey. This is a way to share that experience with other people. We’re glad to be able to do it.”
A line on the tournament’s promotional poster touts: “Good Old Canadian Pond Hockey.” The date is Saturday, Feb. 17. It’s a unique brand of hometown hockey that should make Wellanders proud.
The Turners were “moved and honoured” by how the community came together and rallied ’ round them after Julia’s passing. Turner recalled the first Julia’s Hope Cup tournament, how the weather was blizzard- like with snow swirling thick and heavy, how people could barely see through it.
“But people still showed up and it was so special to see the community coming together in honour of Julia,” Turner said.
Julia’s inaugural Hope Cup raised more than $ 35,000. The past couple of years haven’t been quite so fruitful with weather having been a factor. Games weren’t able to be played on the pond but on pavement.
The tournament is now diversifying, Turner said, with the hope being to raise more funds for Hope Centre.
It has something akin to a food festival with M. T. Bellies serving up peameal bacon sandwiches; famed chefs Michael and Anna Olson, their signature hot chocolate; Notre Dame College School, chocolate chip cookies; Niagara College, chili; Port Colborne’s Chuck Lemay, 200 sausages; Club Richelieu, baked beans; and Trapper’s Sports Bar, beef noodle soup.
Breakfast and lunch are free. A kids mini tourney is being organized, a silent auction will be held and games for children and families will be on site.
“This isn’t just for adults, it’s a family affair,” said Turner. “It’s on Family Day weekend, so we’re hoping a lot of families will be able to show up and make it part of their weekend activities.” Registration details and other info are available on the website: www.juliashopecup.ca.
Turner is appreciative of ongoing support of “old friends and new friends,” some of the former friendships going back to growingup days playing pond hockey long into the night, some of the latter friendships growing out of involvement in the tournament. He also had kind words for city staff and their efforts grooming the ice and other maintenance.
But despite the “fun and games” of Julia’s Hope Cup fundraising, Turner said it remains important to keep homelessness and other poverty issues on the front burner of our social consciences. That must be part and parcel of the experience, he believes.
“Causes of homelessness have to be front and centre on the political agenda. We need less lip service and more political action. We have to find ways of providing more affordable housing, especially for those among us who are hardest to serve, the marginalized, the poor. Mental health issues, addictions need more and more attention, they creep up in homelessness, too. There is always so much that needs doing.”
Maybe you feel it now, too: the warmth.