Anemki Unity Winter Classic Hockey Tournament receives boost from Labourers Union
By Rick Garrick
The Fort William First Nation Anemki Unity Winter Classic Hockey Tournament received a boost on March 2 with a $5,000 donation from LiUNA, the Labourers’ International Union of North America.
“It shows that LiUNA has a commitment to helping our community and helping this tournament get off and be successful,” says Fort William Chief Peter Collins. “It’s a step in the right direction and building that strong relationship at the same time. This will help teams that don’t have the resources to get into the tournament and help cover their entry fees. We want more teams, we want more players, we want more teams to come into our community and have fun.”
The donation was presented by LiUNA representatives Shane K. Fugere and Terry Varga during a cheque presentation ceremony at the Fort William First Nation Council Chambers.
“Tournaments like this are all about facilitating generational change,” says Fugere, LiUNA’s Indigenous relations representative. “When our kids see that there is hope for the future, it’s going to stem the tide of depression and suicides. We at LiUNA believe in generational change. If our young people see that their parents have a career and a full-time position, they’re going to have a better positive outlook on life.”
The Anemki Unity Winter Classic Hockey Tournament is scheduled for March 12-15 at the Fort William First Nation Arena. The tournament was created last year to build stronger relationships between youth in Fort William and Thunder Bay.
“Each team will play at least one game a day,” says Helen Pelletier, chair of the Fort William First Nation Anemki Unity Winter Classic Hockey Tournament. “And on Wednesday afternoon, we are having a skills competition as well.”
Pelletier says the LiUNA donation will enable organizers to drop the registration fee for teams and individual players.
“We’re trying to encourage teams to join, to play and unite the communities, not only in Thunder Bay but First Nation communities outside of Thunder Bay too,” Pelletier says. “We have a lot of players join who are going to be in the city for the week.”
Fort William will also hold a Special Olympics Basketball and Floor Hockey Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday during the Anemki Unity Winter Classic Hockey Tournament.
“Special Olympics is an added feature to this year’s tournament,” Collins says. “We look forward to having fun with our young people that are struggling with disabilities. They will have their own tournament with each of the current teams they are creating.”
Collins says his daughter Angela Collins will be playing in the basketball tournament, including a game against the band council.
“I love playing basketball,” Angela says. “I’ve been playing for almost three years now. My dad comes to watch most every Monday nights, and my coach works us hard.”
Pelletier says the basketball players are “very excited” about playing in the basketball tournament.
“This is a great opportunity because they get to practice and play and show off their skills,” Pelletier says. “We have over 50 athletes coming from Special Olympics to do (the basketball tournament).”
Fugere says LiUNA is “excited” about the addition of the Special Olympics Basketball and Floor Hockey Tournament.
“It’s all about inclusion for us,” Fugere says. “Our medicine wheel has the four colours, our Indigenous logo has the four colours for that reason. We are multicultural and we are all about including everyone within our community.”
Information about the tournament is available online at: anemkiunity.com/winterclassic/.