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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - OCTOBER 2013
SB:
Isn’t it our Canadian duty to
play road hockey as a means of con-
quering cancer? Hockey is part of our
DNA and we can’t conquer cancer
without new, innovative events like
Road Hockey To Conquer Cancer rais-
ing crucial funds for research and care.
This is a chance to leverage our game
to do good, and the experience is one
participants will never forget. Road
hockey, celebrities and childhood he-
roes, food and beverages all day, live
music and thousands of people all
united to further our mission…now
THAT’S truly Canadian!
From Darryl Sittler, Honoured Member
of the Hockey Hall of Fame and Honorary
Captain, Road Hockey To Conquer Cancer
Why is a hockey event like this so
great for Canada?
Hockey is such a part of our Ca-
nadian fabric for anybody who grew
up in this country. And ball hockey is
something we all did as kids. Kids still
play it today, whether it’s road hockey
or down in their basement, wherever
it might be. I played ball hockey as a
kid and it’s fun: we all had our heroes.
Jean Beliveau was my childhood idol.
I was always Jean Beliveau when I
played road hockey.
Why is it important to you to be
involved in this event?
I get asked to do a lot of different
things. I’ve been involved with a lot of
things over the years – the Terry Fox
Run, Ronald McDonald House – and
they have all impacted my life. But my
wife, Wendy, was diagnosed with co-
lon cancer at 50, and died at 53 years
of age. I was asked to be the Honorary
Chair at last year’s Road Hockey To
Conquer Cancer event, and I spoke to
the group at the opening ceremonies.
I hope that getting the opportunity
to speak to the group about my story
with Wendy was meaningful and that
the message that I left with the group
may have been inspirational for people
to realize that what they are doing is
very important. I hope they’ll keep it
going and help it grow.
What’s unique about the Road
Hockey To Conquer Cancer tourna-
ment?
One of the reasons I chose to get
involved with Road Hockey To Con-
quer Cancer is the profile that it brings
to cancer. This event is very high pro-
file and raises a great deal of money
for a great cause. I try to make a dif-
ference through awareness. This event
gets a lot of people involved and gets
the word out there. We have made a
difference. It takes a person to be in a
certain mindset to say, “I’ve heard the
message. I’m going to go get checked
out.” The message has to resonate with
them and then they take the initiative
to go and do it. The more that we are
out there talking about cancer, the bet-
ter the awareness. Hopefully it will
make people be more proactive be-
cause early detection is key with can-
cer.
There is definitely a higher profile
because of celebrity involvement, and
that is a great thing for this fundraiser.
What is so special about being includ-
ed in this celebrity group?
What makes the celebrity partici-
pation so great is that the teams that
are put together for the event get the
chance to meet up with some of their
hockey heroes. It brings back some
good solid memories. It’s a fun day
and it’s lighthearted but at the same
time, it’s powerful. The amount of
money that they raise and the aware-
ness that they raise is significant, and
a lot of that is because celebrities are
involved. But it takes everybody to
make it all work. It doesn’t work if
you don’t have everybody participat-
ing the way they do. The doctors and
scientists need lots of funding. Without
ROAD HOCKEY TO CONQUER CANCER
