THUNDER BAY -- Susan Childs says there are no words to describe the Hope Classic.
In its 17th year, the curling bonspiel raises money for the Linda Buchan Centre for Breast Screening and Assessment at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
But the focus of the weekend-long event, held this year at the Fort William Curling Club Feb. 15 to 17, is on raising awareness of breast cancer.
It’s also an event known for its camaraderie.
“We absolutely love doing this event,” said Childs, the committee chairwoman.
“We have a few less teams this year, but that doesn’t matter because the enthusiasm and the drive is still there.”
The Hope Classic has the capacity for 64 teams and this year there are 50 teams registered.
But Childs isn’t discouraged.
With at least 240 curlers signed up, they will make at least $24,000. Anything beyond that is a bonus, she said.
“These are hard economic times and I just am so pleased with the women of the whole region for getting behind us and continuing to do it,” she said. “Seventeen years is a long time.”
Childs said the committee members never expected the event to last as long as it has, but it’s the enthusiasm from the players that’s kept it going.
“The women of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario are phenomenal. They always come through,” she said.
The Hope Classic raised more than $177,000 last year and has brought in more than $2.2 million over the past 16 years.
All the money raised stays in Thunder Bay and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s director of diagnostic services Sam McKnight said it supports education, research and patients services at the Linda Buchan Centre.
“We’re the largest volume breast screening centre in the region and we’re the only assessment centre,” she said. “Because we can offer state-of-the-art services there, people get to stay closer to home and they don’t have to go other places to get that done.”
