You may have heard that the Canada Cup, the largest floorball
event outside of Europe, has grown from six teams in 2004 to 62
teams today. That's a big accomplishment for our tournament! What
many participants and fans don't realize is how many people
actually contribute to the event and help make it what it is
today.
When we first started back in '04, the event took place over two
days and with just six teams it was relatively easy to schedule and
organize. You can compare that to today's event that takes place
over three full days, across four rinks and with nearly 200
games.
The planning for the tournament usually starts in January or
February. This year we were lucky to get most of our Organizing
Committee back from the previous year. This carry forward of
experience and skill was a big reason why the event ran more
smoothly than ever before.
The Committee never ceases to amaze me. The core group is made
up of Jo (co-chair with me), Marie & Cec (volunteers), Henry
(logistics), Tero (referees), Vesa (venue & prizes), Ryan
(media), Mara (first aid) and Andrew & Matt (scheduling/stats).
This group as a whole is extremely committed to running a
world-class event .Even if we are small in numbers; we make up for
it with passion and dedication to the cause. A good example I can
share is after the tournament, when we got together for beers to
watch the Rogers telecast. Instead of watching the game, we had a
two-hour meeting discussing how things can be improved for next
year. Needless to say we never got to see the game on TV but no one
seemed worried about that!
I'm also really lucky to have my wife Johanna as a co-chair for
the event. Jo is a great leader and really brings the committee and
volunteers together. She helps motivate and rally everyone behind
the cause and without her the event wouldn't be where it is
today.
In addition to the committee, the volunteers and referees are
the key people who bring the meat and potatoes to the event.
Without their work scorekeeping and officiating the games wouldn't
take place.
We have several outsiders who individually have really
contributed, too. There are too many names to list but one that is
worth mentioning in particular is Marko Salminen. Over the past two
years he has brought out a group of European referees that have
done so much to improve the level of our event and the sport as a
whole in Canada.
This year we made the decision to invite Mr Borje Salming
(pictured with me) to the event. Everyone in North America is
familiar with the Salming name from his legendary Hall of Fame
hockey career, but in the North American floorball world his name
is synonymous with the best floorball equipment. Mr Salming himself
had not been at the Cup before, I'm so glad we decided to invite Mr
Salming this year. It really elevated the level of the tournament
and opened doors to many hockey media outlets that would have
otherwise been closed for floorball. We hope to have him back in
future years.
The team managers of the clubs, especially those sending
multiple teams across divisions, do so much behind the scenes. Guys
like Darren Fournier and Dave Toupin in Ottawa, Marty Borean in
Mississauga and many others work all year to organize their
teams.
Our sponsors, Source for Sports, FloorballPro, Salming/X3M,
iMove Canada, Icon, Osuuspankki and Intrepid as well as the Hotels
we work with contribute more to the event than can be measured in
just dollars and cents. These companies are the ones on the ground
that see and appreciate what we are doing and without them; we
could not run the Canada Cup. Make sure to support them in
return.
After the tournament, we can all take a break from the Canada
Cup for a few months, but for the co-chairs the work will soon
begin on securing next year's venue, hotels and other partners. We
also plan to host a new, smaller scale tournament in the fall.
We look forward to seeing you all May 18th to
20th, 2012!