Hockey season is happening and so the Nanaimo Clippers need host families who can help.
The city’s junior A hockey club will be opening training camp on Sept. 8 and are looking for billet families for the 2020-21 B.C. Hockey League season.
Tali Campbell, Clippers general manager, said the team had a few host families “hang up their skates” after last season’s early end, and need to find about a half-dozen beds this month before players begin arriving in the Harbour City the week of Sept. 1-7.
“We haven’t done a very big push yet because we didn’t know what was going on, but now that we know that there’s going to be a season and players will be arriving in September, we’re going to be looking,” he said.
Billet families are asked to provide a bedroom or a suite, while the team covers the player’s grocery bill and provides season tickets for the whole family.
“A billet family is the player’s second home,” Campbell said. “Basically offering a private room and a loving family is all we ask for.”
He said he’s seen and heard about many strong bonds that have formed between players and their host families; he said Tyler Williams’s billet family visited the player in Detroit during an off-season and former star Sheldon Rempal brought his billet family to see him play in the NHL.
“The connection you make is far beyond hockey and that’s what I think is so special about being a billet family,” Campbell said.
Look for more information on the Clippers’ website or e-mail tali@nanaimoclippers.com.
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