NAHC in Halifax an expensive undertaking

The Alberta girls’ entry received a much needed financial assist just prior to this year’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships.

Some members of the squad were struggling with their fundraising efforts for the tournament, which concluded May 2 in Halifax.

But on the same day team members were to fly to the Nova Scotia capital it was announced the club had secured $10,000 in funding from KAQUO, a company which commercializes the forestry assets of various Métis settlements.

Despite this last-minute funding, Priscilla Swampy, who served as the general manager of the Alberta girls’ entry for the NAHC, said not all team members were able to participate in the annual tournament.

“Of the 23 girls who made the roster, 18 were able to attend,” Swampy said.

Since they did not have any other sponsorships, each team member was required to pay $2,000 to take part in the national tournament.

“The athletes have always paid their own way,” Swampy said. “We don’t have any funding.”

As a result, some players that would have undoubtedly had instrumental roles with the Alberta side did not compete at the NAHC.

“Most of them play elite hockey,” Swampy said. “Their parents had dished out enough money already this season.”

Team officials also were forced to alter plans for their accommodations while in Halifax in order to save money.

“We had to downsize on the rooms,” Swampy said. “We had four athletes in each room as opposed to two. So we made it work.”

Despite not being able to ice the roster it would have preferred, the Alberta side just missed out on winning a medal at the national tourney.

Alberta was edged 2-1 by Manitoba in the bronze-medal match. Saskatchewan took top honours in the eight-team girls’ division, beating Ontario 3-2 in the championship final.

Some Alberta athletes, however, did return from the NAHC with hardware. That’s because the boys Alberta squad took home the silver medal in their division.

Saskatchewan also won the male grouping, defeating Alberta 4-3 in the final.

“Even though we’re going for gold all the time, we’re trying to make it fun for the boys as well,” said Greg Sparklingeyes, the president of Alberta Native Hockey, which oversaw both of the entrants from the province.

Like those on the female squad, many of the Alberta male team members did not know each other prior to the tournament.

“It was neat to see the boys come together and work as a team,” Sparklingeyes said.

The Alberta male roster featured 24 players. Each player was responsible for $2,500 in order to make the trip.

Sparklingeyes explained the male players were forced to pay more than their Alberta female counterparts as their team had additional practice sessions, a yoga session and also because they were eating more food and had additional meals.

Also, the male players only had one teammate in their hotel room as opposed to the Alberta girls who were four to a room.

Despite their woes raising sufficient funds, Swampy said officials with the Alberta girls’ squad never considered withdrawing from the event.

“We were determined to make it work,” she said. “I don’t think (pulling out) was an option. I had enough to cover the airfare. My concerns going there were would we have enough for meals. We were there for eight days.”

Swampy said the club’s financial difficulties did not affect team members once they were in Halifax.

“Not at all,” she said. “We all knew it was a struggle to get there. But we didn’t allow it to interfere with our on- and off-ice experiences.”

Photo Caption: After a struggle to put financing in place for the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, the Alberta girls competed hard and placed fourth.