Road hockey tradition

As many spend this weekend with family, some are taking the time to remember a friend. For twenty years, a group from Ancaster has come together to take part in an outdoor hockey tournament. It began when they were just teenagers in high school. But the tradition took on a more serious meaning, when one of the founding members of the tournament died of hodgkins disease.

Fourteen years ago, Jay Kuhn of Ancaster died at the young age of 23 from hodgkins disease — a form of cancer. And now every year, these men come here to honour Jay’s memory and raise money for a good cause.

Good Friday means another year of building memories for these group of friends who’ve never lost touch with one another.

Steven Dore is an organizer: “Every once in awhile recognize how lucky they are to have the people they do in their lives and try and get out and take advantage of spending time with them.”

Fourteen years ago the group learned how precious time with a friend can be. 23 year old jay kuhn of ancaster lost his battle with hodgkins disease and the men vowed to honour his memory each year on good friday by playing hockey together.

Andy Pridmore is a friend: “I’d like people to know how Jay made us feel. He made us feel loved, made us laugh he was truly one in a million and we still miss him so much.”

Steven said: “He just sort of touched all of our lives.”

Over the years, friends and family have raised about one hundred thousand dollars to give to the juravinski cancer centre to help with research on hodgkins disease. They hope to keep the tradition alive by getting their children interested in playing too.

Conrad Galambos is also a friend: “My hope is that we can keep this going for a few years while our bodies last, let the kids grow up a bit, you know, maybe start a father son game or daughter game and hopefully have them keep the legacy going.”

So the men are now celebrating an afternoon of playing hockey and say if Jay was here, he’d be thrilled to be a part of this tradition. They say what’s important is building new great memories, but also raising awareness about hodgkin’s disease.