For the second consecutive year, the Club at Bond Head in the village of Bond Head, Ontario played host to the 3rd annual OneGoal Classic Golf Tournament. Proceeds from the tournament benefit OneGoal's efforts to spread hockey to people around North America and to get children, specifically at a young age, involved in, and playing the game of hockey. .
OneGoal is an organization comprised of the biggest stakeholders in hockey, including the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), National Hockey League (NHL), NHL Alumni, USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, Canadian Hockey League and the International Hockey Industry Association. Major brands such as Nike-Bauer, Reebok/CCM, Easton Sports and Mission-ITECH are also part of the coalition and are working together to create a broad-scale invitation to new hockey families, helping the beginner outfitting process for kids who want to play the game.
With over 20,000 sets of equipment given out to 4-8 year olds in communities all over North America, OneGoal reaches out to children and adults alike, helping with the costs of expensive equipment or passing on terminology and tips to those new to the sport. By reaching out to communities around Canada and the United States and targeting families new to the sport, OneGoal is helping to enable youth to experience the game of hockey and grow the game in all areas of the continent.
Bill Hattem, Executive Director for OneGoal, was extremely pleased with the how the day went, hoping that net benefits from the event would be double what was raised last year. The 90 participants in this year's edition were twenty more than last year's total, which is very encouraging to Hattern, who described the tournament as “our biggest social event of the year – and growing.”
Hattern also praised the hockey community for helping making the OneGoal tournament as successful as it is, saying that “anyone involved in the hockey world, whatever business they have with the sport, should be here because it helps support the initiatives we have to grow the game. Growing hockey is good for everybody; it's good for businesses, it's good for fans, for kids, for families. It's just a win-win-win situation for everyone.”
Devin Smith, director of the NHLPA's Goals & Dreams program, participated in the event, and after a fantastic day on the course, said that “it's a privilege to help out with this terrific cause, especially one that shares the same focus with our own Goals & Dreams program. Hockey is a fantastic sport, but, unfortunately, it is also an expensive one. The priority for both OneGoal and Goals & Dreams is to help make hockey available to as many kids as we can, so they all get to experience the joy that comes from being out on the ice.”
Following the 18-hole Shotgun Shamble, a live, silent auction took place during the dinner banquet. Great items up for auction included several pieces from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, an autographed Gordie Howe vintage Red Wings jersey, as well as signed memoribillia from Alex Ovechkin, Mike Cammalleri and Roberto Luongo.
Once again, the day was an enormous success as the supporters navigated their way around the steaming hot Bond Head South Course, looking for birdies but ultimately lending their support to OneGoal and the strive to help children play the game of hockey.
