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The Silver Stick Story....
The founder
of International Silver Stick Association, Mr. Jack Kinsella, was born in
Regina, Saskatchewan,
April 12 1908. He
moved to Ottawa, Ontario as a child, and it was in this city that the idea of
Silver Stick
originated in 1957. The
purpose of the venture was to further International relations between Peewee and
Bantam age players from the Richmond, Ontario area south of Ottawa, Canada’s
Capital, and upper New York State.
The
theme of the entire program is to promote citizenship and goodwill through the
medium of Silver Stick hockey,
and to foster sportsmanship through International
competition for youth of all nations.
a long stick instead of a trophy to present
to the winners. The stick, made of
silver and donated by the Ottawa Citizen
newspaper, was used at the first Silver
Stick Tournament in 1958 in Richmond, Ontario.
Relative replicas of the original
Silver Stick Trophy are used in North
American Finals. In 1961, Mr.
Kinsella contacted Fred Lamlein of Port Huron,
Michigan who then visited with
Mr. Kinsella in Ottawa. Following
that meeting, Silver Stick Hockey was introduced to
southwestern Ontario with a
tournament in Watford. The late Roy
Caley of Watford was responsible for organizing and
promoting this event.
Silver Stick was celebrated at the AGM hosted by
Whitby Silver Stick. The highlight
of the year’s celebrations was
when Tom Cowick, a Silver Stick Pioneer who
coached a Richmond, Ontario team in 1959 against Potsdam N.Y., organized
a 50th
Anniversary celebration for Richmond and held it on Feb. 16, 2008
It included games between Richmond and Potsdam
Peewee and Bantam teams,
and was attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and a Canadian Cabinet
Minister, just
like 50 years earlier.
The original Silver Stick trophy used in 1958, and that now rests in the
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto,
was also used during the Richmond celebrations.
In 1963, the
first North American Finals Tournament took place in Port Huron, Michigan.
On May 19, 1963 a Constitution
and Bylaws were adopted and an
International Board elected. Port Huron was chosen as the permanent “home” of
Silver
Stick Hockey, and the site of the Peewee and Bantam Finals each year.
years, new Finals were introduced at other locations, as new divisions, and
girls’ hockey were added to the Silver Stick line-up.
In 1989 Whitby, Ontario was sanctioned to host the new International Silver
Stick “AAA” Minor Finals. On
November 23,
1994 the Whitby Tournament was named the Gloria Rints Memorial
International Silver Stick Tournament in honour of Gloria,
who passed away on
September 23, 1994 in appreciation for her many years of service in the Ladies
Auxiliary, and as
Tournament Director for Whitby Minor Hockey Association.
Second Deputy Commissioner, Executive Director and
Immediate Past Commissioner. Of the
fourteen directors,
seven represent Canada, and seven represent the U.S.A.
Since the
Finals in Port Huron, the competition has grown to feature upwards of 65,000
participants each year.
For
more information about International Silver Stick, please refer to our website:
www.silverstick.org
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