A massive Canada-wide street hockey event that alighted at Coquitlam Centre for several years is no more.
Scott Hill, the director of the Play On! tournament, announced on the event’s Facebook page that it is suspending operations for 2018 because of a lack of sponsorship dollars. He said several national sponsors have diminished or pulled their support altogether and the scale of the event that costs about three million dollars to run every year was no longer sustainable.
“The sponsorship well dried up,” Hill said. “Sponsors can reach kids through cheaper digital alternatives.”
That’s left local participants at loose ends.
One of them, Port Moody’s Calvin Ng, has even written a letter to the city’s mayor to see if there’s any support available to keep a local, grassroots version of the event going.
Ng, a volunteer referee at the tournament since 2008, said it was his chance to get involved in hockey in a way he never had a chance as a kid.
“One of the highlights of my summers won’t be happening this year,” Ng said.
Chad Ottahal, a 43-year-old Coquitlam goalie who participated in a few of the tournaments over the years, said the tournament united the country in play.
“Losing it takes away the memories that all the players would create and cherish for the rest of their lives,” Ottahal said. “Most people don’t take the time to just play anymore.”
Josh Hollick-Kenyon, another longtime player, said the event was a chance for average players to measure themselves against others.
“It was still a fun thing, but there was a bit more of a competitive edge to it that you don’t always get at your average ball hockey game,” Hollick-Kenyon said.
Ng said one of the event’s appeals was its accessibility to players of all ages and abilities.
“It was an environment where players and officials of all skill levels and backgrounds could come together and enjoy hockey with a low barrier of entry,” Ng said.
But keeping that barrier low had become increasingly difficult as sponsors diminished, Hill said, adding the event was scaled back to 22 cities in 2014 in an attempt to keep costs in line and entry fees affordable.
“We were concerned that further price increases would have created a competitive environment that would have been contrary to our mission — fun,” he said.
