Queen’s students battle on the court and unite off of it, raising crucial funds for childhood cancer research in the process.
The Tri-Colour Classic (TCC) is an annual non-profit basketball game where the top basketball players from Smith’s Commerce and Engineering programs face off in an intense battle to determine Smith’s top student-athletes.
On Nov. 14, the faculties of Commerce and Engineering tipped off at the Slush Puppie Place in its third annual Tri-Colour Classic basketball game. This year, TCC unveiled a donation of $250,000, bring their total contributions close to half-a-million dollars.
The annual game saw a Commerce victory, beating the other Smith faculty 54-46. TCC was created by students in close collaboration with the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) to raise money for childhood cancer research. The student initiative has already raised $235,000 in its previous two years for Dr. Donald Mabbott’s research lab at SickKids Hospital.
Part of the game’s large appeal is the existing rivalry between the Engineering and Commerce programs at Queen’s. Selecting the best athletes from each faculty is a format that other similar events such as the Cure Cancer Classic follow, pitting different faculties with the same name against each other in a hockey match.
READ MORE: Smith vs. Smith face off against cancer
The passion that sport brings about is what drew TCC founder, Hunter MacKinnon, Comm ’23, to first dream up the event.
“We brought this group together because we really wanted to emphasize coming out of COVID-19 stronger. So, using the unrivaled spirit of Commerce and Engineering in basketball form, to make a positive change [in the fight against] childhood cancer,” MacKinnon said in an interview with The Journal.
Part of their positive change is their ability to grow and connect with others in the community, including Heather and Greg Stewart, parents to Kathryn Stewart.
Kathryn was a first-year student at Queen’s studying to earn a degree in Psychology before passing at the age of 19 after a long battle with cancer. Heather Stewart, ArtSci ’92, spoke about her daughter’s character in an interview with The Journal.
“Kathryn was an incredible young woman, and I know every parent thinks that of their child, but she truly, truly was. She was diagnosed at five with cancer, and she fought and fought and fought and fought and fought, and she didn’t let it stop her from doing big and small things. She continued in school full time. She hung out with her friends, just like everybody else,” she said.
This year, for the first time, TCC also presented an award named in her honour to the player who made the biggest impact in supporting cancer research. For its inaugural presentation, the Stewarts presented the award to Andreas Berganza-Kovacevic, Sci ’26, who individually raised over $3,000 for the charity.
For the Stewart family, Queen’s has a special place in their hearts as multiple family members attended Queen’s, including Heather.
“To honour Kathryn in this way is incredible. She was told she wouldn’t survive long enough, so the fact she got to Queen’s was a huge accomplishment, and she did it all on her own,” Heather said. “She loved Queen’s […] her Queen’s sweatshirt [and] her Queen’s overalls still hang in her closet.”
Sitting courtside, they were able to see all the effort the Queen’s community has put into raising money for research and awareness towards childhood cancer.
“It means so much to see, especially this new, next generation of young people, taking [childhood cancer] seriously,” she said.
It’s an issue that lacks awareness and funding, problems Heather stressed. “Childhood cancer is severely underfunded, especially for children who can’t advocate for themselves and families who are already tapped out and don’t have the financial resources to raise money, [and] awareness,” she said.
However, it’s an issue that continues to affect countless families like the Stewarts. “It can happen to anybody, and it’s not a threatening thing. It happened to us. We took her to our doctor because she had a little sore in her stomach, and the next thing we know, we’re being told she has stage four cancer,” she said.
The Stewart family’s experience having dealt with childhood cancer emphasizes the importance of initiatives like TCC, and Kathryn’s own fundraiser, Kathryn’s Krop 4 a Kure, which has raised $180,000 for neuroblastoma.
You can donate to support the fight against childhood cancer on the TCC’s donation page, and Kathryn’s Krop 4 a Kure donation page.
Tags
Comm v Eng, Cure for Cancer, TCC
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