THUNDER BAY -- An ongoing partnership is helping kids between five and 12 years old to learn how to skate in the winter.
The Nipigon Elks of the Lakehead Junior Hockey League (LJHL) and Healthy Kids Thunder Bay have been together since September 2023 to develop the program with a shared goal of providing positive physical activity opportunities to children and youth in the community.
“We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to participate in sport,” said Nipigon Elks Captain Carter Hargreaves.
“Because of this, we have collaborated to provide over 40 children with the opportunity to receive new skates, helmets and a hockey stick along with four weeks of skating lessons followed by a wrap up party with the players.”
Hargreaves got together with the Healthy Kids physical activity lead, Brianna Bernst, to get the program off the ground, which is free of charge to kids in one of the designated neighbourhoods: Academy, Windsor, Westfort, Dease, McKellar, Ogden and Simpson.
They offer four, one-hour learn to skate and introduction to hockey sessions. The hockey team started with basic foundational skating skills and hockey concepts and have been building on those weekly based on each child's capabilities.
“We are so grateful for the players from the Nipigon Elks who volunteered their time weekly to give our kids the opportunity to learn to skate,” added Bernst.
“Being able to play on a hockey team has a lot of financial barriers, and with this collaboration we were able to give kids the opportunity to play alongside a team, for potentially the first time ever. Having community partners such as the Nipigon Elks is truly how we are able to provide so many programs to hundreds of children across the city.”
