With all the goals and donations counted, 15th annual Kimmett Cup sees $150,000 raised and headed towards different charities that help serve the community.
This year’s event hosted 45 teams over seven sheets of ice between Mitford Pond and the SLS Centre. In addition, the event saw 130 sponsors and 70 volunteers who helped bring the event together.
Beneficiaries for this year’s event include Cochrane Helping Hands, The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Children’s Mental Health Initiative, Cochrane Helping Families Handle Cancer, Cochrane Search and Rescue, Cochrane Lions Club, and The Lindsay Leigh Kimmett Memorial Foundation.
After 14 tries, team ‘We Are Family’ placed first in the competitive division, which featured Flames Alumni Mason Raymond who was first pick in the ringer draft, with Cochrane Cruisers as the runner up for their third year in a row.
In the U18 division, the Downtown Dangle Show took the championship spot, followed by the Riversong Rizzlers in second. In addition, the U18 Paige Pickering Prize Scholarships were awarded to Gavin Wade, Eli Torrie, and Carter Eckert.
For this year’s Spirit of Kimmett Cup Top Fundraisers, team We Are Family took the top spot, followed by Reid, Leslie, Simon, and Elle Kimmett.
The tournament also saw a special visit from Flames Alumni, including Cory Sarich, Brent Kahn, alongside Mason Raymond who played 11 games on Saturday.
Cameron Rothery, a local hero who played for the ACH Kings was featured with his brother on the cover of The Eagle 5 years ago, hosted a ‘Coaches Corner’ with the visiting flames alumni, where he asked hard-hitting questions about their experiences playing professional hockey.
“This is the tournament kids look forward to every year,” Rothery said. “This year, the Rothery’s are teaming up with some ACH respiratory therapists who decided to learn the game of hockey.”
It was also mentioned that every goal scored by Rothery at the Kimmett Cup equaled a 25-cent donation to a charity, with Rothery guessing he scored more than 100 times over three games.
One of the organizers of the event and father of Lindsay Kimmett, Kelly Kimmett, said everything from the participation, attendance, and even the weather made this year’s event one to remember.
“This is one for the record books between the return to near-capacity and the number of teams,” Kimmett said. “And the addition of U18 who brought lots of spirit to the event and the Flames Alumni brought a lot of interest to the event, and also ended up spurring a lot of fundraising too in the draft competition to have them play on one of the teams.
“Overall, it was one of the best.”
With participation from Flames Alumni providing a great deal of success for this year’s event, Kimmett said they plan to build on that for next year’s tournament.
“I think the plan for next year is to have one of the Flames available in a lottery pick for all the teams that raised over $2,500,” he said. “This year, I believe there were 15 teams that raised over $2,500.”
The fundraising page for the Kimmett Cup is still open through February and will be available online by visiting www.kimmettcup.com. The 50/50 raffle draw is open until Feb.29, with the current jackpot at $6,500. In addition, ARC Pilates Cochrane will be hosting special classes throughout the month with all proceeds raised heading towards the Kimmett Cup.
