Vernon Senior Old-timers' Harvest Hockey Jamboree
It began as a simple request for an 'on the road' senior hockey competition with a travelling hockey team of the Parksville Golden Oldies Sports Association (PGOSA). It has evolved to become a labour of love promoting the sportsmanship and fairplay of Senior Old-timer Hockey.
In its eighth successful year Mike Todd has made this hockey tournament one of the most loved of the long list of Senior Old-timer Hockey tournaments. It was the novel format that attracted the initial participants. It is the format that keeps them coming back year after year with their wives to enjoy the game and the social camaraderie this event generates.
The format recalls memories of a time long past when as children they gathered on an ice covered road or back alley, frozen slough or pond, or if they were lucky, a community outdoor rink with real boards (slivers and all). More than a few of these ol'timers can tell a real story of using 'horse apples' as a puck and a whole pile as a goal post (most times the puck didn't last very long but there was usually a never ending supply). No organized teams just each player picked one at a time by the emergent leaders. The result was pretty well matched teams of an amazing balance of ability. No parents, no coaches, just growing young minds sharing their time and skill and trying to do one better than their newly chosen opponents.
That is the essence of what tournament organizer Mike Todd with wife Joyce have accomplished with the format of the Harvest Hockey Jamboree. Getting back to the child in us playing the game for?..Fun? (What a concept?? playing hockey for FUN!)
There are no stacked teams in this tournament. Only advancing age separates teams of the younger players from those of the elder. Everything else has changed due to the march of time and the mature nature of these senior gladiators. The players have much more practiced skills now and the vagaries of shared lifetime experiences have made them much more wary and wily. They have managed to master at least an imitative skill of a Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, or the 'Pocket Rocket'. Most importantly the gravel-studded road has given way to the super-smooth ice surface of the Vernon Multiplex.
The lads in the dressing rooms said it all when they were trying to book into the tournament next year before the tournament and associated activities had run their course. VERNON - CONGRATULATIONS ON RUNNING A SUPER TOURNAMENT! WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR!
Mike and Joyce Todd have nurtured a superb concept for an active senior sport tournament in Vernon. It has grown over the years and now requires assistance. Sponsorship from major Vernon business entities and other small business would be most welcome.
Contact Mike or Joyce in Vernon at
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if you are interested in becoming a sponsor. See also http://www.senioroldtimershockey.com/ for full details of the tournament.
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