Nor Cal Cup builds on first-year success


T


he Nor Cal Cup


tournament series’ inau- gural 2010-11 season could only be described


as a success at every level.


The series accomplished its basic goal of providing a competitive arena for teams in the under-served North- ern California region to elevate their quality of play. The byproduct was in- creased participation by all programs in the region.


The Nor Cal Cup faces off its sec- ond season with a gala kickoff week- end on Nov. 26-27 at San Jose’s Silver Creek Sportsplex.


“For starters, the teams were very appreciative and excited that we add- ed the series,” tournament director and NARCh president Daryn Good- win said. “I’m sure they had some pretty big expectations since most participating teams had experienced NARCh before. I think we exceeded expectations, and there’s even more excitement heading into our second year.”


Goodwin said the qualifying format for the championship tourna- ment, slated for May 5-6 in San Jose, remains the same except for one tweak.


“Last year, we allowed the NARCh Regional to count as one of the quali- fying events, but this year it will not qualify teams,” Goodwin said. “This should result in a better turnout at a few of the tournaments that were on the smaller side last year.”


Additional qualifying tournaments are scheduled for Dec. 17-18 at the Power Play Sports Arena in Ripon; Feb. 4-5 at the Davis Indoor Sports Center; March 3-4 at the Antioch Indoor Sports Center; and April 21-22 at Stockton Indoor Sports. Forty teams participated in last year’s championship finals. The Nor- Cal Extreme went on to finish second in the Bantam Silver Division at July’s NARCh Finals in Florida. “Like any sport, if you’re playing more consistently at a higher level, you’re going to improve,” Goodwin said.


For more information and updates on the Nor Cal Cup, visit NorCalCup. com.


- Phillip Brents 18


The highlight of this year's Give Blood Play Hockey tournament was the presentation of a $100,000 check to Children's Hospital of Orange County. By Phillip Brents


T


his year’s Give Blood Play Hock- ey (GBPH) tournament found itself competing against a weekend slate of CAHA and AAA ice hockey showcase games.


That the community-oriented inline hockey benefit tournament at- tracted a record 84 teams is a glow- ing testament to the drawing power of the event, which focuses on the fight against pediatric cancer. “We’re thrilled,” said Dale


Quayle, a member of the tourna- ment’s organizing staff and father of event founder Mary Quayle, who is now a senior at Penn State Univer- sity. “The turnout was awesome.” The fifth annual event, which marks the beginning of the 2011-12 inline hockey season for most travel tournament club teams in Southern California, took place from Oct. 21- 23 at the re-branded The Rinks Ir- vine Inline (formerly the 949 Roller Hockey Center). Teams play for the right to have their name inscribed on the perpetual Blood Cup, the tourna- ment’s official championship trophy, as well as contribute to a worthy cause.


The highlight of this year’s event was a check presentation for $100,000 to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) toward the construction of its pediatric can- cer wing.


The GBPH tournament has be- come one of the major donors for the new oncology wing, which is set to open in 2013.


Donations raised at this year’s three-day hockey extravaganza brought tournament organizers closer to their goal of reaching the 800-pint mark in their ongoing blood drive and $200,000 in funds raised


over the event’s five-year history. Besides the games themselves, the 2011 tournament featured a popular skills competition, an array of on-site vendors, prize giveaways and an appearance by the Anaheim Ducks’ mascot, Wild Wing, as well as the NHL team’s Power Players ice girls.


“It’s a great tournament not only because you get to play the sport you love, but because you get to support a good cause while doing it,” said Riverside’s Kayla Demint, who won a gold medal with Team USA at last summer’s FIRS women’s inline hockey world championships in Italy and is a past participant (and divi- sion winner) in the GBPH event. “It’s great that we can give back to something like this and it’s important to remember the bigger picture that we’re playing a game for the love of the sport and that we shouldn’t get so caught up in the competitiveness of it when there are some who can’t even play because of different circumstances,” Demint continued.


“My friend, who plays hockey, was just diagnosed with cancer so, in a way, I feel an even greater need to do things like this. I realize that even if I’m not directly helping one of my friends, I’m helping the friend of someone and that’s important.” “The players truly feel they’re playing for something bigger than the tournament,” said Dale Quayle, who also serves as a coach for Mater Dei High School’s club team. “They’re fighting for a cause. Some of the kids play on two or three teams. They’ll play 10 or 15 games before the weekend is over. Win or lose, the people know that the real battle is outside the rink. The thing I take most pride in is the graduates


who come back and not only play in the event, but give blood - sometimes for the first time.”


New Horizons


Mary Quayle, who is working on finishing her degrees in Communica- tion Arts and Sciences and Political Science, originally couldn’t attend this year’s event due to commit- ments at Penn State, but nonethe- less made a surprise visit to the delight of everyone. She outlined a bright future for the tournament. She said her experience in start- ing the event as a community service project while a student at Mater Dei has reinforced her conviction to remain an active fundraiser in the fight against childhood cancer. After enrolling at Penn State, she continued her involvement with the fight against the devastat- ing disease by volunteering for the school’s dance marathon fundraising arm (THON), which she noted is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.


“Last year we raised over $9.67 million for Penn State Hershey Medical Center’s Four Diamonds Fund, all benefiting pediatric can- cer,” Mary said.


She noted that about one in 450 adults is a childhood cancer survi- vor.


“Because of my involvement in THON, I’ve learned so much that can and will be incorporated into the Give Blood Play Hockey organization,” she said. “I’m looking to incorporate more of a hands-on effort to touching the lives of the children at CHOC suffer- ing from pediatric cancer personally. I think that’s the next step to mak- ing our event a huge success not just with monetary support, but emotional support as well.”


Give Blood Play Hockey Scores Big Again The charity inline tournament continues to exceed expectations on a number of levels


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