News
By: Gerry McCartney
CEO & General Manager, London Chamber of Commerce
Street Hockey and Business You Say? Play On!!!
So why would the Chamber guy be writing an op/ed piece on street hockey? The prospects intrigued me enough such that I thought I would give it a shot (sorry about that). In case you hadn’t heard, there is a huge, and I mean huge, street hockey tournament coming to London again and that means economic benefit and lots of it.
With apologies to the readers for leading off with the obvious, hundreds of teams (over 277 of them last year) will be spending hundreds of dollars on everything from sticks, to uniforms, to coffee, lunch, gas and beverages of all kinds including beer. That said, one doesn’t have to speculate too far to surmise that it’s good for the economy? Of course it is. But it’s about more than money.
The CBC Hockey Night in Canada sponsored “Play On!” program is now Canada's largest sports festival. After doubling in size for three consecutive seasons, the program involved over 170,000 Canadians in 2009. It was designed to celebrate the game of Hockey in its most pure and all-inclusive form. Arguably, hockey is a game that we all (well at least most all of us) have played. Try to find an adult male (and a growing number of females too) who was raised in this country and who hasn't played road / street / or ball hockey in some fashion. The Play On! program has simply organized this game formally unlike it has ever been done before.
The London event takes place May 29-30 on the streets surrounding Victoria Park where 35 rinks are expected to be utilized this year.
And, as always, the event will include a celebrity road hockey game (The Mayor, Attorney General Chris Bentley, MP Ed Holder, Knights coach Dale Hunter and several NHL Players have been invited to participate). My money is on Bentley, not because he is a great hockey player but because he is a marathon runner and the rest – well let’s just say they are not.
There are recreational and competitive divisions for boys, girls, men, women, and coed teams of all ages and skill levels. And this year, if you long for the days when Corporate Challenge (you remember Corporate Challenge) was still around, there will be an all new Corporate Division - Presented by Echidna Solutions - available for 2010, with 100% of profits from this division donated to CBC Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! selected youth charities, including KidSport ("so ALL kids can Play!") and Scouts Canada.
Teams will play at least 3 games against other corporations in the City, and receive a commemorative CBC HNIC Play On! t-shirt and other items from event sponsors.
If it’s anything like Corporate Challenge in its early days, I can’t think of a better way for London’s corporate community to get out and meet each other, challenge each other to a friendly wager and even have an opportunity to get to know the people within their own companies - and that kind of team building has unlimited ROI.
The Play On! program was founded by a Londoner, and graduate of the MBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business. The national program, which involves 16 major events across Canada, continues to be managed entirely by Londoners. Just another example of Londoner’s hard at work, err! I mean Play!
Play On!
CEO & General Manager, London Chamber of Commerce
Street Hockey and Business You Say? Play On!!!
So why would the Chamber guy be writing an op/ed piece on street hockey? The prospects intrigued me enough such that I thought I would give it a shot (sorry about that). In case you hadn’t heard, there is a huge, and I mean huge, street hockey tournament coming to London again and that means economic benefit and lots of it.
With apologies to the readers for leading off with the obvious, hundreds of teams (over 277 of them last year) will be spending hundreds of dollars on everything from sticks, to uniforms, to coffee, lunch, gas and beverages of all kinds including beer. That said, one doesn’t have to speculate too far to surmise that it’s good for the economy? Of course it is. But it’s about more than money.
The CBC Hockey Night in Canada sponsored “Play On!” program is now Canada's largest sports festival. After doubling in size for three consecutive seasons, the program involved over 170,000 Canadians in 2009. It was designed to celebrate the game of Hockey in its most pure and all-inclusive form. Arguably, hockey is a game that we all (well at least most all of us) have played. Try to find an adult male (and a growing number of females too) who was raised in this country and who hasn't played road / street / or ball hockey in some fashion. The Play On! program has simply organized this game formally unlike it has ever been done before.
The London event takes place May 29-30 on the streets surrounding Victoria Park where 35 rinks are expected to be utilized this year.
And, as always, the event will include a celebrity road hockey game (The Mayor, Attorney General Chris Bentley, MP Ed Holder, Knights coach Dale Hunter and several NHL Players have been invited to participate). My money is on Bentley, not because he is a great hockey player but because he is a marathon runner and the rest – well let’s just say they are not.
There are recreational and competitive divisions for boys, girls, men, women, and coed teams of all ages and skill levels. And this year, if you long for the days when Corporate Challenge (you remember Corporate Challenge) was still around, there will be an all new Corporate Division - Presented by Echidna Solutions - available for 2010, with 100% of profits from this division donated to CBC Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! selected youth charities, including KidSport ("so ALL kids can Play!") and Scouts Canada.
Teams will play at least 3 games against other corporations in the City, and receive a commemorative CBC HNIC Play On! t-shirt and other items from event sponsors.
If it’s anything like Corporate Challenge in its early days, I can’t think of a better way for London’s corporate community to get out and meet each other, challenge each other to a friendly wager and even have an opportunity to get to know the people within their own companies - and that kind of team building has unlimited ROI.
The Play On! program was founded by a Londoner, and graduate of the MBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business. The national program, which involves 16 major events across Canada, continues to be managed entirely by Londoners. Just another example of Londoner’s hard at work, err! I mean Play!
Play On!
