PICTOU COUNTY – The Pictou County Hockey Minor Hockey Association is hosting the 29th Annual Bantam Memorial Tournament, which is being held from Feb. 14-17.
XEROX is the presenting sponsor, with the Pictou County Wonder Auto bantam AA Crushers representing the host organization with the support of the Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers team. This year the tournament includes eight bantam AA teams and twelve major bantam teams. The tournament schedule will be available on the PCMHA website. Members of the community and families and friends of players in the rep division of PCMHA volunteer in every aspect of the tournament.
The Bantam Memorial Tournament is held each year in memory of three young hockey players: Donald Gladwin, John Allan MacDonald, and Shawn MacKay and Shawn's mother, Lee Marie MacKay whose lives were tragically lost in a motor vehicle accident while returning home from a game in February 1984. In 1985, the first Bantam Memorial Tournament was organized to honor their memory.
Play starts on Thursday afternoon when the Pictou County bantam AA Crushers face of against the Antigonish Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m. at the Wellness Centre and the Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers play Newbridge at 4 p.m. at the John Brother MacDonald Stadium. The opening ceremonies will take place at the Wellness Centre Friday at 6 p.m. with the Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers team playing Truro Bearcats at 4 p.m. before the ceremony and the Pictou County bantam AA Crushers playing the Northside Vikings immediately following the opening ceremony.
On Saturday, at the Wellness Centre, the Pictou County bantam AA Crushers play West Hants at 2:30 p.m. and the Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers face off against Kings Mutual at 5 p.m.
The public is encouraged to support this event and enjoy the hockey. Tournament passes are $15 and daily passes are $5. There is no charge for students.
While this tournament honors the memory of those who passed away, it’s also a major fundraiser for Pictou County Minor Hockey Association. All the proceeds of the tournament go directly back to PCMHA, which helps keep the yearly costs for hockey as low as possible.
