Hello and Happy New Year!

We are just under a month away from the 40th Annual NGHA Tournament in Ottawa! We are very excited that our Tournament is once again SOLD OUT and we have 86 teams coming from near and far to compete on the ice and have some fun off the ice as well! Please look for schedule and registration information two weeks before the tournament.

We are proud to once again be partnering with Do it for Daron. DIFD is about inspiring conversations, raising awareness and transforming youth mental health. Here is a brief history of DIFD:

On November 13, 2010, 14-year-old Daron Richardson died by suicide. Daron was a local Bantam AA player at the time of her death. From this tragedy came a movement to transform youth mental health. Spearheaded by Daron's parents Luke Richardson (formerly of the Ottawa Senators) and his wife Stephanie, who decided to transform their very private pain into a public call-to-action, a decision was made to support young people who suffer in silence from the pain and stigma of mental illness.

DIFD encourages young people to talk openly about mental illness and to ask for help when needed. DIFD provides young people, their parents, teachers, coaches and other adult role models with the resources, outlets and, most importantly, courage to overcome the shame and fear of discussing mental illness. The purple DIFD heart, a creation inspired by Daron's favourite colour, has become the youth-driven symbol of this movement. We encourage you to take a moment to find out a little bit more about DIFD and share this information with your teams.

At this year's NGHA Tournament, our goal is to raise awareness and inspire conversation about youth mental health. The tournament will feature lots of opportunities to share and support the DIFD message. It is our hope that by bringing this conversation into a place where the girls feel safe and supported, we can highlight that mental health can be discussed anywhere and everywhere, and to reinforce the message that these young ladies can ask for help for themselves or for their friends in times of need. Please help us by painting the rink PURPLE! We encourage all teams to dress in purple off (and ON!) the ice. Purple hair, purple tape, purple everything - the more the better! DIFD merchandise will be for sale at Tournament HQ (3500 Cambrian Rd) throughout the weekend. Also in support of DIFD there will be a silent auction with 100% of funds raised going to DIFD and mental health outreach awareness and support services. You are encouraged to share your purple photos on social media using the hashtags :
#weallskatetogether
#DIFD
#nepeanwildcats

Thanks in advance for your support of this important tournament initiative. We are looking forward to welcoming you Feb. 7-9!

NGHA Tournament Committee
tournament@ngha.ca
NGHA.ca
DIFD.com