NEW GLASGOW – They were only teenagers when they died in a car accident on their way home from a hockey tournament, but 29 years later, their legacy still lives on.
Donald Gladwin, John Allan MacDonald, Shawn MacKay and MacKay’s mother, Lee Marie MacKay, were killed as they were returning home from a game in February 1984. The following year, the first Bantam Memorial Tournament was organized.
Now in its 28th year, the tournament is still going strong as teams from across the province come together this weekend to honour the memory of these young players and raise funds for minor hockey in Pictou County.
“This is huge for Bantam – from the time these player start playing rep hockey, this is something they work towards,” said Michelle MacDougall, a parent who is handling publicity for the tournament.
“And this is a real community tournament, we draw on all the minor hockey teams. They work the door, work the clock, sell 50/50. Everything is volunteer. There are people in the community who have been doing this for years, who have no more connection to minor hockey, their kids have grown up, but they still come back.”
It actually takes 360 volunteers to put on a tournament of this calibre, said LeeAnn Burrows, who is organizing volunteers. About 10 volunteers are needed for each of the 36 games.
“We have lots of parents who pull extra shifts,” added Burrows. “All of the parents of the rep division of minor hockey are asked to do some volunteering as part of their contract, because some of the money goes back into minor hockey and offsets the costs of registration. And then we also have the friends of the tournament, who have been involved over the years or who have a connection to what happened 29 years ago.”
There are still spots that need to be filled by volunteers, she said.
The tournament draws in Bantam players from across mainland Nova Scotia, who face off against the two local teams – the Pictou County Wonder Auto Centre Bantam AA Crushers and the Scotsburn Dairy Major Bantams.
“We have 20 teams coming, and there’s not enough hotel rooms for all of them in Pictou County, so there are teams staying in Truro and Antigonish,” MacDougall said.
Play will begin on Thursday in Pictou and Trenton, with games scheduled throughout the remainder of the weekend in Trenton and New Glasgow. The opening ceremonies will be held at John Brother MacDonald Stadium at 6 p.m. on Friday and the gold medal game will be played in New Glasgow on Sunday, with the Bantam AA final game at 1 p.m. and the Major Bantams at 3 p.m.
