The world’s largest road hockey tournament for charity raised $3.1 million for cancer research in Toronto Saturday.
The annual Scotiabank Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, despite periods of rain, brought more than 1,900 people to the Woodbine Racetrack parking lot.
The players made up more than 165 teams, and were taking part in three-on-three tournaments. The full-day event holds the Guinness World Record for the largest road hockey fundraiser in the world.
“I think with cancer, everybody is impacted,” said Michael Storfer, who had more than 300 people from his company take part. “So I think that there’s not a lot of motivation required.”
He said the group helped raise more than $305,000.
Almost 2,000 people took part in the Toronto road hockey tournament, which raised more than $3 million for cancer research on Sept. 28, 2019. (Nick Dixon/CTV News Toronto)
Toronto resident Rick Arkell, who recently lost his wife to cancer, attended the event with his family. He said they helped raise around $40,000.
“The way the world is today, when you come out for a cause like this, everybody is kind of on the same page, and doing something for other people,” he said.
“It’s pretty heartwarming, you know, you leave here on a high.”
Michael Burns, the president of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, said people’s love for hockey, as well as their experiences with cancer drove them to take part.
“Hockey is in our DNA as Canadians,” he said.
He adds that over the nine years, this event has raised more than $20 million.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs star Doug Gilmour was one of several former hockey stars taking part.
“You know everybody’s associated with cancer,” he said. “This program here, raising almost $3-million, it’s amazing, [and] we just got to find a cure.”
