Cardiff, U.K. – This weekend the Welsh capital will play host to arguably the biggest charity ice hockey event in the UK. The ninth annual UK Charity Allstars event will be hitting Cardiff, for three days of action filled hockey, camaraderie, fundraising and alcohol.
The event has already broken last year’s record.
Since its inception in 2008 the weekend has already raised a staggering £298,000. Last year local charity the Sheffield Children’s Hospital walked away with the coveted trophy with the weekend raising just over £86,000.
This year due to the tireless fundraising efforts of the 136 registered players and 8 off-ice fundraisers, the event has already smashed last year’s amount and has currently raised £92,000 at the time of writing.
Players travel far and wide to take part, from Belfast and Bradford, and from Glasgow and Gosport, and even a netminder who lives in Dubai. All players take part with the mutual aim of wanting to play hockey, but more importantly raise funds for some extremely worthwhile causes.
The ability of players range from ex EPIHL and NIHL players to those who play for recreational teams and even people who haven’t strapped a pair of skates on before. Friendships are forged and banter shared that leaves lasting memories with those who are fortunate enough to take part.
A player fully embraces the spirit of the weekend (Image courtesy of Sarah Davies)
This year players will represent Dreams Come True, British Heart Foundation, Blue Cross, Breast Cancer Care, Help for Heroes, Prostate Cancer Care UK and the two local charities Ty Hafan and Wales Air Ambulance.
The event will start on Friday evening at the Ice Arena Wales with the official launch and a motivational talk from Paralympic Gold medallist Mark Colbourne MBE.
The Great Britain international cyclist has seen first-hand the amazing work that the Wales Air Ambulance do after he was rescued by them after suffering a paragliding accident in 2009. He is also a patron for children’s hospice charity Ty Hafan.
There will also be a charity auction that evening with great items including a signed Tyler Seguin Dallas Stars shirt and signed shirts from several EIHL teams.
The games will start the following day at midday with the eight teams battling it out in a round robin format and will play each other once in order to determine seeding’s for Sunday evening’s playoff format, where the 8th placed team will play the 7th placed team and so on.
Many of the players from last year’s event in Sheffield
The Dreams Come True team lost in a shootout in the final last year and will be hoping to go one better this year.
Michael Walsh, Captain of the Dreams Come True team offered his thoughts ahead of the weekend, “To be a Captain at this event is an honour and to be able to lead the Dreams Come True team is especially nice for me. After playing for the team for the last three years, I officially signed up as a volunteer with the charity in 2015. I’ve been able to see first-hand what a difference this money is going to make so I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us and helped us double what we raised last year,” Walsh said.
One of the event organisers Geraint Walters spoke about the progression of the event, “The weekend continues to grow and it’s amazing how much support we get year on year from sports teams, companies sponsoring the weekend and teams or by donating raffle prizes to friends and family.”
“When we look back a few years to the times of raising £16/30k to the last and current £86/91k it’s overwhelming to see the continued growth of the event and dedication of those taking part to raise these sums of money,” Walters added.
“It leaves you with a sense of achievement and proud to part of something so special which benefits so many by putting the effort in and playing the sport we love,” Walters concluded.
If you want to find out more, donate some cash or get involved please visit the UK Charity Allstars Facebook page.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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