The good folks of the Fernie Old Growth Hockey Club have donated $750 to Angel Flight to help the local charity provide services to those in need of a lift to medical care.
Club member Mike Low said that members of the 50-plus age ground club raised $750 by contributing their empties.
“Most of the folks that play in this hockey group that we belong to would be of an older generation,” said Low.
“We know many people that would be affected by inability to travel during the winter months and get to appointments in Kelowna – Ourselves and others that we know would benefit from what Angel Flight does.”
Angel Flight is a volunteer-run charity providing free air transport to residents in the East Kootenay to medical appointments in Kelowna.
The Fernie Old Growth Hockey Club is made up of hockey players that want to stay involved in the game they love, but are not so sure about the intensity that younger players bring.
“You get people that come directly from the junior hockey leagues and they’re only in their 30s – and for some of the folks that were 60-plus they found that it was getting to be a little much for the level of intensity they were willing to deal with, so they decided to start their own hockey league and branch out with a truly old-timer group. We ask for plus-50 people as a minimum, but there are a couple of gentlemen in their mid-70s.
“It’s great being able to continue experiencing it without having to risk having some 25-30 year old skating 100 miles an hour at you an inadvertently running you over.”
Low said that playing hockey during the pandemic felt like a blast from the past.
“Its kinda funny, when you were a kid, 6-7 and went to play hockey your mom would dress you t home and you’d ride to the arena in your equipment … we’re back to doing that because they only want us in the dressing room for 10 minutes before and after.”
Low said that the club had been playing regularly every Sunday evening in order to stay active through the pandemic – though with new public health orders, that would sadly be on hold for now.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Outdoor and indoor adult team sports banned as B.C. battles surge in COVID cases
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