The Medicine Cup Charity Tournament, now in its ninth year, raises money for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. Twenty-two teams from the faculty, as well as other health-sciences faculties and allied health professionals, such as physical therapy and nursing, will face off starting Friday, Feb. 8. They'll play throughout the weekend at five different rinks around the south side of Edmonton, including: Empire, Park Allen, McKernan, Strathearn and Pleasantview, which is where the finals will take place on Sunday.
"It's a lot of fun. It's definitely one of the highlights of the year," said one of the student organizers, fourth year medical student Dani Lowe. "The men's side is extremely competitive, so on top of it being for a great cause, you get to watch some pretty high intensity hockey games."
"We're promoting health and wellness, as well as raising money for a great cause," adds fellow organizer and classmate Chris DeSutter. "What else could you ask for?"
Lowe and DeSutter are hoping the tournament can pull in around $10,000 this year; in its first eight years the tournament has raised $100,000 total which organizers say was the 10-year goal.
"It has totally exceeded expectations," said DeSutter.
Lowe and DeSutter are hoping they can pull in donations from non-tournament goers through the tournament's website, mcct2013.com. It's also where you can get more information, including the schedule of games.