Women’s hockey tournament raises over $53,000 for Bethell Hospice

December 5, 2024 · 0 Comments

Annual Udder Tournament is held in memory of Donna de Boer

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A recent women’s hockey tournament was an amazing success and it raised a significant sum for a local charity.

From November 8 to 10, the 10th-annual Udder Tournament was held at the Caledon East Community Complex.

The tournament is held each year in memory of Caledon Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) founding member Donna de Boer, who is remembered for her incredible contributions to the league and Caledon community at large.

A lifelong dairy farmer, de Boer was a friend and teammate to many in Caledon. Her profession was the inspiration for the tournament’s cow theme.

This year’s Udder Tournament raised over $53,000 for Bethell Hospice, a local non-profit that provides free hospice palliative care and community programs.

This year’s fundraising total beat last year’s already-impressive mark of over $50,000.

The Udder Tournament is also known for its scholarship awards — this year, three scholarships were given out to female athletes attending post-secondary education.

As it does each year, the Udder Tournament reached capacity with 30 different teams playing in it across eight different divisions. Players of all skill levels enjoyed games over the three-day event.

The Udder Tournament is all about promoting the positive values de Boer represents: good sportsmanship, kindness, respect for others, and cooperation on and off the ice.

73 volunteers were involved in this year’s tournament; as one can imagine, hosting a tournament as big as the Udder Tournament is quite the undertaking.

Tournament organizers said they were very happy with this year’s event and look forward to the next one.