Pond Hockey is a long-standing tradition in communities all over Canada, and was something Lindsay Leigh Kimmett loved to play.
“Hockey was Lindsay’s game,” said Jason Baserman, co-chair of the Kimmett Cup Pond Hockey Tournament in Cochrane and a friend of Lindsay’s from medical school at the University of Calgary.
Baserman said they had a tradition of playing ice hockey at U of C and he was fortunate to play on Lindsay’s med-school hockey team on a weekly basis.
“She was an incredible competitor, with a heart of gold and really somebody who inspired those around her,” he said. “Even though I only knew her for a couple of years, I felt very privileged to call her my friend.”
Lindsay passed away in February of 2008 and was an aspiring doctor. Since her passing, her family and friends have come together to continue her legacy through the Lindsay Leigh Kimmett Memorial Foundation.
Baserman and fellow organizer Joe MacLellan co-founded the Kimmett Cup Pond Hockey Tournament in 2008 with the first event taking place in 2009. Since then, Baserman and MacLellan, along with Reid Kimmett, have been co-chairing the tournament.
Baserman said they thought a pond hockey tournament ‘would be a great way to honour Lindsay,’ and supports the Lindsay Leigh Kimmett Memorial Foundation.
“This is our seventh anniversary and we’re glad to see not only that the tournament is continuing, but that it is growing,” said Baserman. “We have an amazing group of support. I always say the tournament is the ‘we initiative’; it is made possible by the contributions of many.”
Baserman said the tournament has been ‘a fantastic journey’, with the exception that Lindsay can’t be skating with them.
“She is obviously shining down on us, and the tournament is a pretty magical day.”
This year’s tournament will take place Jan. 16-17 at Mitford Pond and Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Family Sports Centre. Friday will run from 6 – 9 p.m., but Baserman said the majority of the action takes place on Saturday, with games running from around 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There are three divisions in the tournament – competitive, recreation and fun. Baserman said teams could sign up for any division depending on the expertise of their squad. The fun division, where they don’t keep score, is new and was introduced last year.
He said the tournament is officially full, but they have activated a waitlist incase anyone drops out last minute. They are expecting over 400 players in the tournament, with the average team size about nine players.
For the second year in a row the Kimmett Cup will be working with the Children’s Wish Foundation. Last year they raised a total of $147,000 for the foundation and Baserman said they have decided to make the commitment to the foundation long term – working with them until they have raised a half a million dollars for the foundation.
He said the energy at last year’s tournament was ‘at it’s highest’ because participants had the chance to meet with families who had received a wish or were going to be receiving one.
“It made such a strong and very personal impact, so our committee got together and we just felt like our work wasn’t done. We’re excited to continue to work with them,” Baserman said.
As of Jan. 2, Baserman said they had raised a total of $158,000 including the total from last year, but added that they would have additional revenue coming in from sponsorship registration, a prize raffle and live and silent auctions.
This year they have also decided to work with the organization Helping Families Handle Cancer Foundation and hope to make a donation of $20,000 to the group.
Baserman said the group’s co-founder, Carie Stock, is from Cochrane and she reached out to them and wanted to get involved.
“They have been incredibly passionate supporters of ours leading up to this tournament and a lot of their group is going to be volunteering on the day of the tournament,” he said. “We’re really excited to be able to support them too.”
The tournament is followed by a banquet at the SLS Centre with prizes and live and silent auctions.
There will be two major prizes raffled off with tickets priced at $20 each and available for purchase at the tournament or at Grand Avenue Pharmacy. The grand prize is a trip for two anywhere in North America to see a sporting event or concert of the winners choosing. This prize includes lower bowl seats, airfare and accommodations. The secondary prize is an iPad mini.
Live and silent auction items include a luxury box for 20 people at a Calgary Hitmen game with $300 in food and drinks included, personalized catered sushi dinner, paintings made by children who are part of the Children’s Wish Foundation, hockey tickets, signed memorabilia, ski passes, hockey equipment and more.
The banquet also includes what Baserman described as moving presentations from individuals from Children’s Wish Foundation and Helping Families Handle Cancer, with both kids and parents speaking.
Baseman recalled last year’s Kimmett Cup ambassador, Brendan Gillingham’s, speech, when Gillingham was able to have his wish of visiting George Lucas’ Skywalk Ranch come true.
“He shared an incredibly moving speech at the banquet and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” he said. “I think when you have people that are sharing their experiences it just adds a tremendous amount to the tournament.”
Baserman is a pediatric resident at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and added that on a personal level, knowing that the tournament supports the children he meets has been tremendously fulfilling.
“The ability to honour my friend Lindsay’s legacy and then work to make the quality of life of patients we see day after day is something special and it is amazing to see Cochrane get on board.”
And, if anyone is still looking to get on board in helping the tournament, Baserman said there are a number of ways.
People can join the tournament’s ‘wish making online fundraising campaign’ found at kimmettcup.com. They are also still looking for volunteers, and those who are interested can email [email protected]. They also have a Facebook page found at facebook.com/KimmettCup and twitter, @KimmettCup.
