Julia’s Hope Cup about more than hockey
Fundraiser to support Hope Centre returning to Chippawa Park pond
Julia’s Hope Cup goes beyond the puck and stick action on a central Welland pond.
“This is a social issue for us,” says tournament founder Paul Turner of the event started more than a dozen years ago.
“We started this tournament before we lost our daughter, Julia, to raise awareness of homelessness.”
Before a cancerous brain tumour took her life in 2011, Julia could be found volunteering at the Hope Centre and Harvest Kitchen, helping others in the community through involvement in school clubs and her church.
She could also be found at the annual Hope Cup Pond Hockey Tournament, held on the Chippawa Park pond, with her father.
In 2012, the tournament was renamed Julia’s Hope Cup as a way of keeping her memory and the good works she did in the community alive.
The eighth annual pond hockey tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with children’s teams taking the pond ice off of First Avenue just north of Fitch Street.
“We’ll have somewhere between 30 and 40 kids, between six and 12 years old, in a mini-tournament. They play until 11 a.m. and then the adults and high school students plat from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” says Turner.
He says it looks like the ice on the
pond will be in good shape before the weekend, adding City of Welland crews do a great job of getting the surface ready for the players at the noncompetitive fundraising tournament.
“We’re shooting for 70 to 100 people to come out and play,” he says of the larger tournament. “We put all the names (of players) in a hat and draw teams that way.”
Playing hockey and raising funds for the Hope Centre isn’t the only goal of the event, which was rebranded last year as Julia’s Hope Cup and Carnival.
“It’s not only a great pond hockey tournament, but it also has a winter carnival atmosphere to it. We have games for kids and the whole family, an amazing silent auction and a ton of food.”
Turner says there’s a pig roast and Trappers Sports Bar and M.T. Bellies are serving food as well. Celebrity chefs Anna and Michael Olson will also be on hand.
“We’re going to try and build this up into something bigger next year, we’re already talking with the city. We really don’t have anything in Welland in February.”
All of the funds raised at the tournament go back to the Hope Centre, an agency that provides a wide range of services to assist individuals and families in Welland and the surrounding area.
Shannon Munro, fund development co-ordinator at the Hope Centre, said the event which raised $35,000 in its first year has raised more than $160,000 for the agency.
“This remarkable success says so much about the dedication of the Turner family and the many organizers and supporters,” she said, “but mostly I think it shows how much Julia Turner was loved and the wonderful way this event continues to honour her memory.”
Registration for the adult tournament starts at 10:30 a.m. at a cost of $100 per adult player and $50 for students. The children’s’ tournament costs $25 a player. For more information visit www.juliashopecup.ca.