It’s still seven months away but the Host Committee for the the 89th Ontario Senior Men’s Amateur Championship at Brockville Country Club are certainly active.
The championship will take place on July 23 to 25 but just days prior to that, on July 19th, the club will also be hosting their Senior Men’s Invitational. The Ontario Senior Amateur host committee has shared that the winner of that Invitational will receive an exemption into the Ontario Championship. If that person is already qualified, the spot will default to the next lowest score.
In addition to the exemption a number of other news items have been revealed by the committee.
Following the practice round of July 22nd, players will be invited to a cocktail party and “Hot Stove League” discussion featuring Hockey Hall of Fame member and Montreal Canadiens’ great Larry Robinson. Organizers say that Larry will be joined by several other NHL alumni and they are also hoping for some participation by present-day NHL players as well.
Tickets for this event will also be available for the public, including an opportunity to buy packages of multiple tickets. Tournament volunteers and sponsors will be offered a discount for the July 22nd event. Harper Cotie, local Morning Show host for iHeart Radio’s Bounce 103.7, and a founding member of the “Boys in the Booth” hockey podcast, will be the Master of Ceremonies for the Hot Stove League discussions. More details on pricing and how to purchase tickets for the July 22nd event will be forthcoming.
The Host Committee has also begun its search for 60-75 volunteers needed to run the tournament each of the three tournament days. An event to promote volunteer sign-up will be announced later this month.
The Host Committee has also designated a local organization as the charity of choice for the Ontario Senior Men’s Championship. The “Weekender Program for Kids – WP4K” provides a large baggie of food items, on the weekends during the school year, to local kids and teens (JK-grade 12) who live with food insecurity. These students typically benefit from school breakfast, lunch and/or snack programs during the week, but the weekends can be long and difficult for them, when these programs aren’t available. That’s where WP4K comes in. This program, and registered charity, provides the students enrolled in the program with a large baggie, containing a variety of food items, for them to take home each Friday throughout the school year, to help over the weekend.
The first 16 WP4K baggies went home from the first Partner School on Dec 11th, 2015. Since then, they have expanded to partner with 22 local schools; they have added more items to the baggies; increased their eligible age group from JK-6 to JK- 12; and handed out 51,414 weekend baggies! That is 51,414 weekends made easier for a local kid/teen, who lives with food insecurity.
WP4K were planning for 300 students for the 2023/2024 school year, which is their ninth, at a cost of $285 per child, for a total budget of $85,500. However, the need is so high, that they currently have 347 students enrolled, and with grocery prices soaring, their new fundraising goal is $100,000K.
The Brockville Country Club’s Host Committee for the Ontario Senior Men’s Championship says they are honoured to support this very important charity. All funds raised at the July 22nd Cocktail Party and Host Stove League through ticket sales, along with silent and live auction items, will be donated to the Weekender Program for Kids for the 2024-2025 academic year.
