Manitouwadge Minor Hockey hosts IP1 Jamboree

by Karina Hunter

For the first time at a tournament, Emeraude Charron (my hockey star) left her coach's side to skate around the whole of the rink.

Manitouwadge Minor Hockey hosted an IP1 Jamboree today at the Manitouwadge Recreation Centre Arena; two teams from Marathon and a team from Wawa traveled to participate in the Jamboree which included a free coffee & lunch, penny tables and door prizes.

The games were 30 minutes each with a buzzer at two minute intervals to allow players to switch off that they might all have equal opportunity to play. All the young hockey stars showed their passion for the game as playing hard while exemplifying great sportsmanship and teamwork throughout each of their three games.  At the end of each game there were awards given to the players on each team for MVP; half way through the day there was also a Chuck-a-Puck which financed the free pasta lunch provided for players, parents and coaches and earned the winner $100.

It was great to be next to the bench hearing Coach Charles Newton encourage the kids to cheer on their teammates, finding a reason to praise every single one of them and reminding them often that 'The most important thing is to have fun'.

The Manitouwadge Minor Hockey Association thanks everyone who contributed to making this a great event including the players, parents, coaches, volunteers, organizer Rosemarie Bellerose and the many sponsoring businesses. 

Visit the Marathon Minor HockeyAssociation to learn more about their programs.

The 2009-10 Copper Kings IP1s with Coach Toby Matteson. During the season they were also coached by Karly & Aaron Baker and Charles Newton (pictured above).

Submitted to The Echo, Marathon Mercury & Algoma News, 03.27.10