The F.E. Madill girls hockey team is fundraising for a trip to play hockey in Europe.
Coach Ean Moffat revealed 14 players are taking part in a 12 day trip from December 28, 2024, to January 8, 2025, in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany.
"We are going to be playing five hockey games," Moffat said. "We're also going to the world famous ski jump. Seeing hockey obviously is a big part of it, [but it] would be cool to play overseas in the different arenas, but also the history and the sightseeing that we're gonna be taking in."
The Four Hills Ski Jump event takes place January 4 near Innsbruck. They'll also see the Munich Olympic Village, as well as castles and museums.
He said the tour will stop in Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Munich.
"The number of people that have said, I wish we could have got this opportunity when I played high school hockey," Moffat said. "So hopefully the girls know how fortunate they're going to be, and I know for a fact they are all looking very forward to this trip."
He pointed out community support has been amazing, with jackets sponsored by Egg Farmers of Ontario, jerseys sponsored by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and backpacks sponsored by Huron Dairy Producers.
"The amount of support we've had from community members, Kinsmen Kinettes, the Lucknow Legends," he said. "The Legions, and Lions."
Other sponsors included Music in the Fields, The Tractor Pullers, friends, families and neighbours.
Moffat said a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and dessert auction will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Wingham, November 13.
"And the girls will be there to serve and help clean up," he continued. "There's also a silent cake or pie auction. Each girl is going to be bringing dessert of their choice in to be auctioned off. That's November 13, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m."
A fundraising tournament will be held at the Wescast Community Centre in Wingham November 6.
"So six teams in it, which is a good size. Obviously, we have three schools from basically our conference, which is Huron Perth. We'll be going against [schools from] Kincardine, Walkerton district, and Sacred Heart," Moffat explained. "No one will ever play schools from their own conference. We're just gonna have three games with a point system, and the team with the most points is ultimately the winner. But I think it's just to be a good way to start the season."
The first game of the season for the F.E. Madill team is November 14. The team is also coached by Andrea Verhaeghe.