Annual Michael Tupling Memorial tournament supports local sports

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

Twelve teams – six women's teams and six men's teams – took over the ice at Honeywood Arena on Friday, November 30, and Saturday, December 1, for the annual Michael Tupling Memorial Hockey Tournament.

This is the eighth year the tournament has taken place in Memory of Michael Tupling, a local man who died tragically in a farm accident.

Over the years the tournament has raised close to $100,000 that is put back into the community to help with local projects that are sports and community centre related.

Proceeds from the tournament have contribute to a new ice scraper in the arena, paid for goalie nets, provided the sound system, added protective spectator netting in the arena, provided ice dividers for minor hockey, and purchased a pitching machine for Mansfield youth baseball.

It has also provided financial support for youth hockey and skating.

“Michael was my brother. He was locally raised and played hockey here his entire life,” said Chester Tupling, event organizer and committee member. “He was a big supporter of the community. He passed away in a farm accident. So we decided, in his memory, to raise some money. For eight years we've had this tournament and try to give it back to the youth in some way. We're able to help some kids who can't afford to play hockey or sports – we're able to help them financially with some support. We helped support getting the new Zamboni here eight years ago and that's where we started.”

The tournament is open to women's teams and men's teams who play a round-robin style tournament with a final championship game.

“Last year was the first year we had half women and half men,” Tupling said. “So there's six women's teams and six men's teams. The last game tonight (Friday) is at 11:00 p.m. and we'll play from 8:00 tomorrow morning til 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night.”

Funds are raised through team entries, a silent auction, and many individual sponsors along with some corporate sponsors.

“The majority of our sponsors are individuals who want the opportunity to give back to the community. What we've done in the past is wait for the tournament to be over, then we reach out to Honeywood minor hockey, Honeywood figure skaters, some of the other local organizations to see who needs support and where they need it. Then as a board we decide how much we are going to allot. This year it was Mansfield ball park. They were in bad need of a pitching machine. A machine like that is around $2400, and that's a lot of money for a little organization.”

The event also featured a Saturday night social and dance at the arena.