The Face Off Against Breast Cancer, a fundraiser hockey tournament now in its 13th year, is a true community event that brings women and families from all over Vermont together for an important cause. The Middlebury Otters and the Middlebury Mystix are two women’s community ice hockey teams in rural Addison County, Vermont. Their team rosters include women from all walks of life: converted hockey moms, lawyers, teachers, farmers, nurses, accountants, students, musicians, a doctor, and even the local driver’s ed teacher. Why do all these different women get together for a hockey tournament? For the love of the game—and for the love of so many who are touched by breast cancer.

 

The Beginning

The tournament was established in 2000 when a member of the Otters, Liz Cronin, was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment, she kept playing, fighting against this powerful disease with the support of her friends and teammates. Now an eleven-year survivor, Liz is a star center--a master stick-handler and goal scorer.

 

The Tourney Grows

Over the 13 years since Liz’s diagnosis, the tournament has come a long way, too. The Face Off Against Breast Cancer went from raising a few hundred dollars and some much-needed awareness in its early years, to a bigger and bigger event. Now the tournament has expanded to a two-day format with three women’s divisions—Competitive, Recreational, and Novice—as well as a co-ed “Friends and Family” division of exhibition games. Twelve women’s hockey teams from all over Vermont will compete, with all-day hospitality in the nearby “warming hut,” prizes, a guest speaker, and great camaraderie. Both the Otters and Mystix are proud to include breast cancer survivors on their rosters.

 

Community Support

Players and friends will also enjoy a fun-filled benefit Tourney Party on Saturday night of the tounament weekend. The band? Local favorites “The Horse Traders,” whose bass player Rick Marshall is also a mean defenseman with the local men’s league “The Monday Knights,” and coincidentally, he’s also a ref.

 

If you want to understand how the local community gets behind this tournament, consider this: the band is donating their show. Local businesses pitch in with food, sponsorships, and donations. Local watering hole Two Brothers’ Tavern hosts the Tourney Party, and plans to donate a portion of all their sales from the tournament weekend. Each player raises money by way of individual player sponsorships and donations from friends, family, co-workers, and teammates. Middlebury may be a town of only 8,000, but it’s a true hockey town!

  

Where the Funds Go

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Cancer Patient Support Program’s (CPSP), a Vermont-based aid organization. Funds are designated toward patient services and the emergency fund. CPSP serves patients statewide; they have had requests from every county in the state.  The Patient Services include counseling and nutrional support for the patient and his/her family. CPSP’s Emergency Fund provides short-term, emergency financial relief to local patients in need. This important program addresses the hidden impacts that cancer can have on families: it aids those who, because of cancer, have lost their jobs and may lose their car or home because they are in treatment; those who are too sick to work, or who have soaring medical expenses and limited co-pays; or those who have no insurance coverage at all. All of CPSP's services are offered free of charge.

 

Last year the Face Off Against Breast Cancer raised over $60,000, and the Otters and Mystix hope to smash that record in 2012. The need for support continues, however: the American Cancer Society estimates that over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone—and over 400 right here in Vermont.

 

So if you find yourself in the Green Mountain State of Vermont this January, stop by the newly-renovated Howard Brush Memorial Sports Center in Middlebury. You’ll see some great competition, you’ll hear some survivor stories, and you’ll understand just what brings a community together to Face Off Against Breast Cancer.