Four communities recently had a chance to win 250 thousand dollars in arena upgrades and the opportunity to host a National Hockey League preseason game. All they had to do was win Kraft Hockeyville. The final four communities were Bobcaygeon in Ontario, Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick, Sainte Adolphe in Manitoba and Lumsden in Saskatchewan.
The afternoon prior to voting closing there was a nervous energy over the community of Lumsden. “The streets were like a ghost town with everyone in their homes voting,” organizer of Lumsden Hockeyville Jamie Lees described. “There were plenty of emotions going around town including her own home where the Lees family was a mixture of excited and nervous.”
In non pandemic year’s communities usually had huge rallys on the day of voting in a last ditch attempt to draw in support as well as votes. This was not allowed to occur this year and had to all be done virtually. With the restrictions in place restaurants are take-out only and only family is allowed in homes.
Winning Kraft Hockeyville is not an easy task, especially for communities situated in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. In the 14 previous years of the competition neither province has produced the winner. That trend continued this year as well. Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick is the winner of the 15th edition of Kraft Hockeyville.
For the runner up communities, including Lumsden, the news is not all bad. They receive 25 thousand dollars in arena upgrades and an additional 10 thousand dollars worth of equipment. “The results were disappointing, but I’m very happy a deserving community got the money to help them in a time of need!” Lees adds, “We were able to unite our town, surrounding communities and the whole province in an approved way during a pandemic. So I regret nothing!”
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on almost everything and fundraising is no exception. One of the biggest annual fundraisers for the community centre is the duck derby. The derby had to be canceled in 2020 and is in question for 2021.
On average the duck derby brings in around 60 thousand dollars.“Having to cancel the duck derby due to covid last year, we are trying to not only recoup funds for the rink but find a way to unite people again,” Lee says. “Since we can’t physically connect, this competition has allowed us to virtually unite. I love seeing people of all ages, gender, current and past residents of Lumsden come together for the purpose of supporting our town!”
The 25 thousand dollars in arena upgrades won as well as 10 thousand dollars worth of equipment will be very beneficial to the community. There will be a meeting at an undetermined date to discuss how the winnings will be spent. After the restrictions are lifted and life can start getting back to as normal as it can, hockey will once again be a vital part of small town life. In Lumsden, hockey isn’t just a game but rather a way of uniting communities, developing friendships and forming lifelong connections.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba still have yet to capture Kraft Hockeyville but communities such as Lumsden are reasons why the provinces consistently have communities in the final four. Lumsden in 2021, Pense in 2020 and many other communities have come close to being Saskatchewan’s first winner of Kraft Hockeyville. One year a Saskatchewan or Manitoba community will be crowned Kraft Hockeyville. There is no time like the present to start thinking about next year’s competition and finally getting a Saskatchewan or Manitoba community crowned Kraft Hockeyville after all, proper planning prevents poor performance.
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By: Travis Longman