The fur will fly as Hitmen host traditional Bear Toss
The fur will fly in an affair that’s become a highly anticipated tradition in Calgary.
When the Calgary Hitmen first light the lamp in their game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome, a menagerie of stuffed critters will come raining down on the ice as part of the team’s 22nd annual Brick Teddy Bear Toss.
Melissa Blades, the Western Hockey League team’s assistant manager of business operations, said the origins of the event aren’t certain, but what’s clear is that it has become an annual spectacle that attracts international attention, for all the right reasons.
“We’re weren’t the first team to think throwing a bear on the ice was a good idea,” she said.
“But the fans love to throw those bears. I think the main reason it’s been so successful is that our fans are just incredible.
“Some people bring garbage bags full of bears to the game.”
Just how successful has the Teddy Bear Toss become? The event should easily surpass 30,000 bears on Saturday. Last year’s record haul was 28,815. There has been an average of 14,285 bears tossed every year since the event began.
After the bears hit the ice, so do about 100 volunteers to quickly clean up and pack the furry pile, which are later sent to some 60 agencies that deal with children, including the Salvation Army, Stephen’s Backpacks Society, and Alberta Children’s Hospital, among others.
Blades said it’s not just a blast for the fans, but for the young players as well, who are given a brief pause in the game while they await the furry flurry to subside.
“The magic when the bears are raining down, it’s so neat to be a part of it,” she said.
“And for them to be playing in front of a sold-out building just gives the players even more energy.”
Among the notables who have scored the magic marker in the past for the Hitmen are NHL stars Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd.
But for at least that game, Blades said, the focus of the game’s stars shifts from the ice and into the stands.
“Those fans are the real heroes of the game,” Blades said.