Students and teachers at Ponoka Secondary Campus came together to support the school’s Santas Anonymous program.
Being the 25th anniversary of the showdown, organizers put in all the stops with a special Score-O, plus a Ponoka Skate Club demonstration, a team-signed Oilers raffle ticket, and of course, the grand show itself, the teachers versus students in a two-period hockey game.
Teacher Ron Labrie said this year’s event was not only fun, it was great to see close involvement from the students. “The evening was fantastic and I was really leaning on the Grade 12s to organize this.”
“We had a lot of people working behind the scenes and they are always a really big part of this.”
Along with donated ice time, toonie donations to get in and the other events, the evening brought in $3,300, with $1,000 of that coming from Score-O event. How the Score-O worked was if no one scored against the empty net (from the opposite end hashmarks), the proceeds would go to Santas Anonymous.
“We had four community sponsors who stepped up to provide that cash donation,” said Labrie.
When looking at the money raised, Labrie said he’s also proud of the fact that it’s only a toonie to get in. “We’re happy with the results and we’re happy that we can support a worthwhile cause.”
The addition of the signed Oilers stick being raffled also helped with the evening.
“I did hear a rumour that a Calgary Flames fan won the Oilers stick,” joked Labrie
What was fun about the showdown was having a mix of skilled skaters and those who have only skated a few times on both teams. He noted that he’s seen a great number of attendees at the game with families and other members of the community coming together to support the project.
In addition to the players and teachers were younger students stepping up to collect funds and referee the game. “Without them this doesn’t go,” said Labrie.
The final score? 22-20 to the students. “It was a defensive battle,” laughed Labrie.
