Decked in pink from head to toe, a crowd gathered to support the Gee Gees’ women’s hockey team in their game against the University of Montreal on Sunday, November 15th. Not just your ordinary Hockey game, Sunday’s game was hosted as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness month, with the given title Pink the Rink. To mark this event, the City of Ottawa had officially declared November 15th “Pink the Rink Day”.
Selling tickets to the game to students for $4 in advance and $6 at the door, all proceeds from Pink the Rink were donated directly to Breast Cancer Action Ottawa, in support of breast cancer awareness month. A local, community based organization, Breast Cancer Action Ottawa is an organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for breast cancer patients and survivors through practical help, emotional support and education.
The hockey game brought with it a large crowd, filled with students, parents, as well as very enthusiastic junior hockey players and Gee Gees fans. Keeping the crowd on their toes, the Gee Gees and Carabins spent the majority of the three periods neck in neck; increasing the crowd’s excitement with the constant back and forth scoring. In the third period, down two goals, the Gee Gee’s took back the lead, winning the game with the final score of Gee Gees: 5 – Carabins: 4.
Aside from being a successful hockey game, the event was an overall win. Organized by the Sports and Recreation Marketing Class (APA 4145) from the School of Human Kinetics, the afternoon featured raffles, pre-games at the Draft Pub, on-the-ice competitions, a successful Twitter and Facebook social media campaign, as well as an after-party at the Sens House. Overall, Pink the Rink successfully raised over $2,000 from games hosted at the Draft Pub, and a donation from the She Gees Football team, all which will go to Breast Cancer Action Ottawa.