Sign up for the battlefordsNOW newsletter

First Shift program kicks off another year

Oct 15, 2017 | 11:00 AM

The popular First Shift program is back in the Battlefords.

Saturday morning,  for the fourth straight year, 38 kids and their parents showed up to the Civic Centre where children were outfitted with equipment courtesy of Bauer Hockey and parents were introduced as to how the program works.

For $199, each kid was fitted with new Bauer equipment from head to toe and six one-hour on-ice sessions over the course of six weeks. The idea is for kids and parents new to the sport to dabble and see if they like hockey.

The program is offered in hockey communities across Canada. Here in the Battlefords, it’s a joint effort between Canadian Tire, Baur, Hockey Canada, and the Battlefords Minor Hockey Association (BMHA).

“This is one of my favourite days of the year,” BMHA president Jenni Wuttunee said. “The kids come in, they’re so excited, the parents are excited…It’s just a great way for these kids to meet each other and gain friendships and hopefully come January, they join our regular minor hockey program.”

Wuttunee said it’s a no-brainer for the BMHA to offer the program once again, as it’s a means for them to attract new kids to the sport.

“Our main goal is to have as many kids as possible playing hockey,” she said. “We’re hoping a program like this gets kids interested and excited so that they join mainstream hockey and continue to play for many years.”

Roughly 160 kids have gone through the program over the course of four years, according to Wuttunee. This includes kids from surrounding communities like Wilkie, Unity, and Edam as well.

“The best part about it is the kids get all Bauer gear, which is high-quality gear,” Wuttunee said. “And we see a lot of the female players coming through this program, which is fantastic because something that’s very important to us is increasing the numbers in our female program.”

The first on-ice session is set for Sunday, Oct. 29 at the Don Ross Arena.

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11