When the puck drops at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Jock Harty Arena to kick off the annual Commerce Charity Cup, members of the Queen’s commerce hockey team will be hoping to beat the defending
champions from Western and hoping to raise money for cancer research as well.
The hockey tournament, now in its third year, invites students from Queen’s Commerce, McGill University Management, the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and the Schulich School of Business at York University to compete with the ultimate goal of raising money for the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario at Kingston General Hospital.
“Cancer has touched so many lives, and this is one way we can have an impact,” said Nicole Trotter, Comm ’07 and one of the event’s co-chairs. The other cochair is Kyle Gray, Comm ’07.
The Commerce Charity Cup originally began as a COMM 351 leadership project and has grown
into an annual tradition, Trotter said, adding that she’s enthusiastic about the support the tournament
has received on campus in the past.
“It is rewarding to see so many students rally together in support of a great cause and make a contribution to the Kingston community,” she said. Last spring, the tournament raised $20,000.
This year, Trotter said, the event’s executive struggled to find sponsors, as many previous supporters of the event were personal contacts of the tournament’s original founder, Jared March, who graduated
in 2006. “We found ourselves scrambling at the last minute,” Trotter said, adding that the organizers are grateful to Commerce Society (ComSoc), which is offering support as the title sponsor this year.
“ComSoc saved the CCC and is enabling us to put on a great event and focus on maximizing donations to the Cancer Centre,” Trotter said. “We are hoping to exceed the $10,000-mark.”
The Cancer Centre handles a regular caseload of 10,000 patients annually. This year’s contribution
will be put towards a planned redevelopment of the Centre, aiming to make patients more comfortable
by increasing space and adding chemotherapy suites as well as a radiation bunker.
Heather Smith, manager of central development for the Kingston Hospitals Joint Advancement Foundation, said the Kingston community appreciates the efforts of the tournament’s organizers.
“We are so impressed with the success and diligence of the commerce students,” she said. “It’s truly amazing that they are doing all of this to help people they have never even met.”
This year’s event features a pregame party at Alfie’s from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The round-robin tournament begins at 6:30 p.m. at Jock Harty Arena, where Toronto Maple Leafs alumni Jim Dorey and Lou Franceschetti will rotate playing for each team. Admission to the game is by donation, and all proceeds will go to the Cancer Centre.
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