FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION – Over 200 hockey players from remote First Nations are in Thunder Bay this weekend for a fundraising tournament. The North Star Air, Casey Tait Memorial Klik Cup tourney features 12 teams, representing 12 First Nations, and raises money for people who have to travel to Thunder Bay for kidney dialysis and other renal treatments
“It’s been a draft tournament since 2014 and it started off just to give people something to look forward to, just to do something during the summer and just for people to come together and play hockey and enjoy themselves for one weekend of the summer,” said Co-organizer, Jonathan McKay of Sandy Lake First Nation.
“One of our great friends ended up passing away, Casey Tait, and he was a great guy, he loved hockey, he loved basically everything about hockey.”
Tait, unfortunately, passed away after struggling with kidney disease. Once he passed, McKay and Titus Semple, Co-organizer, decided to switch up the focus of the tournament to help others in similar situations.
“People that come from the north, who have to seek renal treatment or dialysis treatment, and they have to relocate from their communities to Thunder Bay because they don’t offer that service over there,” said McKay.
“So we changed the focus and we wanted to help ease the cost, the cost of living, we wanted to help them come to Thunder Bay to seek that treatment.”
This is the first Klik Cup tourney since 2019, before the pandemic, and it's bigger than ever before, with a record 209 players, including Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa and McKay says between tournament fees and help from many sponsors, they've managed to set a new fundraising record of over $30,000 for the cause.
