By Dave Leaderhouse
Fundraising is a activity that all 12 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League franchises must deal with and without exception it is a year-round process to ensure that funds are in place for a successful season.
All SJHL teams have a variety of events staged throughout the year with some of the activities being weather dependent. The Nipawin Hawks, for example, have an ice fishing derby in the works for March with entries now being accepted. Anyone registering before Mar. 1 for the Mar. 17 event at Tobin Lake will be eligible for a bevy of early-bird prizes while those who enter after that initial date will then be restricted to the lengthy list of prizes associated with the actual event. Those interested in entering the derby can contact the Nipawin Hawks office at 306-862-2748.
Another form of fundraising is a raffle. The Flin Flon Bombers gave away a pair of quads and a trailer before Christmas while the Kindersley Klippers have their annual Iron Horse 50/50 draw under way with the lucky winner to be announced on Feb. 24. Should all 1,000 tickets be sold, at a cost of $100 each, then the winning ticket will receive $50,000. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Klippers’ office at 306-430-8011.
Still another method of raising funds, and generating interest in the team at the same time, is a sportsman’s dinner. The Weyburn Red Wings have their annual event slated for Feb. 17 with CFL announcer Glen Suitor, former NHL player Jeff Odgers and former NHL referee Don Koharski listed as the guest speakers. Tickets are $85 each and they can be purchased by calling 306-842-2212.
The Yorkton Terriers also have a sport’s celebrity dinner planned with that event to take place Jan. 20. The guest speaker for that event is former national women’s team coach Danielle Sauvageau. Tickets for this event are $65 each and can be secured by calling 306-783-4077.
As mentioned earlier, every team holds some sort of fundraising activity throughout the year, but these that have been mentioned are the ones that are currently in place and require the public’s support. Some teams will have comedy nights, harvest crops or host fashion shows to generate interest from the public. What is common for everything, however, is that support has to be shown and it doesn’t have to be just from those fans of a specific team.
In the vein of fundraising, one cannot forget the SJHL’s Chase the Cup draw currently being held. Tickets for this fundraiser are $10 each, five for $20 or 20 for $40 with all proceeds going to develop an education fund the league hopes has in place to assist players with post-secondary educations. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.sjhl.ca/chase-cup-raffle.
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