2 weeks Ago By Tom Zillich
A pre-Christmas tradition for many hockey teams is the teddy bear toss, where fans bring stuffed toys to a special game and throw them to the ice when the home team scores first. All those toys are then collected from the ice, put in bins and given to a local charity for distribution to kids in need. The toss is fun for fans, for sure — but it can also be pretty disgusting.
Just think about all the spit, sweat and dirt that accumulates on the ice during a hockey game. Yuck. Bravo to Surrey Eagles for doing things differently at South Surrey Arena in recent seasons.
When the BCHL team's popular Teddy Bear game is played , previously tossed toys will rain down on the ice, not new ones. "I'm not sure what other teams do, but we have around 400, 500 teddy bears that we use year after year," Eagles co-owner Ron Brar explained. "People bring brand-new teddy bears or others toys or gifts, and they exchange those for old teddy bears that are thrown onto the ice.
It's a give one, take one exchange. "We also collect monetary donations allowing people to grab a teddy bear for the night as well," Brar added. "The actual bears that are given out to the hospital or as gifts are all new and have never been thrown on the ice.
We take our used bears, dry them and store them for next year. Otherwise, it would be really gross to give away those bears, the ones that hit the ice and get dirty." Also Dec.
20, pre-game starting at 4 p.m., people in need can pick up one of 1,000 food hampers assembled with fresh produce and other food donated by local farms and businesses.
Eagles players will help fill the hampers two days before the game at Brar Brothers Farms, on 184 Street. "The hampers are for families and individuals in desperate need during the holidays," Brar underlined. "It's not just about anyone grabbing a box of food, and we hope people don't abuse it.
We can't judge people, it's an honour system." Brar said the Eagles are also doing a food drive during the home game Friday, Dec. 13, against Coquitlam Express.
Surrey plays again Saturday, Dec. 14, in Coquitlam. Reigning of the BCHL, Surrey sits , with 13 wins in 25 games, prior to games Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec.
10-11) on Vancouver Island, in Victoria and Cowichan Valley, respectively. The BCHL involves 21 teams in B.C.
and Alberta..
