Pelly River Hockey Camp 2012

This weekend I scrubbed dishes until my hands looked like shriveled prunes.  I baked dozens upon dozens of cookies.  I made a vat of moose stew.  I peeled dozens of eggs.  I poured cup after cup of coffee.  And then I scrubbed even more dishes.

But wow was it ever worth it!  This weekend, Faro hosted the first ever Pelly River Hockey Camp and it was a roaring successes.  Thirty youth aged 8-18 from Pelly Crossing, Carmacks and Ross River joined up with our own hockey youth for a weekend of torture...errrr training.  Those kids were exhausted once the coaches worked them on and off the ice.  They nearly ate us out of town!  We made a number of runs to the store for more supplies and had to place a few extra calls around town to have more food cooked up.

The kids all seemed to have a great time at the camp.  They left talking about coming back next year, so I guess we will be turning this into an annual event!  The coaches and local RCMP who coordinated and organized this event did a great job and it all went off without a hitch.  There were prizes and awards (a plane ticket from Air North, hockey sticks from Sports North, skate sharpening from Sports North, and heaps more) and every kid went home with something in hand.  Each kid, thanks to the many sponsors of this event, even went home with a really nice t-shirt from the event.

There was even a retired NHLer here for the weekend!  Jarrett Dueling, a Yukoner who played for the New York Islanders, volunteered his time and experience to come and hang out with the kids. 

All of the youth were polite and so well behaved the entire weekend.  The chaperones and parents that came along deserve an award for driving and going with very little sleep while staying with the kids in the gym at the rec centre all weekend.

The volunteers behind the scenes need a pat on the back for all the cooking, baking and cleaning that was done!  I love how in small communities so many people come out to support amazing events like this.  We sure do hope it turns into an annual event and just keeps growing in size each year.  I will start baking weeks in advance to feed them all next time around though!