Osoyoos hockey fanatic Cathy Martins has filed the entry letter and pictures to officially enter our town in the Kraft Hockeyville contest. Martins, who has been a hockey fan her entire life and long-time volunteer with the various incarnations of the Junior B team here in Osoyoos over the past 16 years, is hoping community members will also send letters into the contest website. Photo by Keith Lacey.
A self-confessed “hockey nut” is leading the charge and to have Osoyoos named Canada’s Hockeyville and she’s hopefult hundreds of local hockey fans will join her team.
Cathy Martins, a local supply teacher and longtime fan and volunteer with Junior B hockey team in Osoyoos in its many variations over the past 16 years, has officially filed an application to the hugely-popular national Kraft Hockeyville contest.
Last week, she sent in an official letter stating how Osoyoos’ Sun Bowl Arena is in dire needs of upgrades, how much she loves hockey and the local Junior B hockey team and how important the game of hockey is in this community.
“I figured I might as well try,” said Martins, who grew up in a family where her dad Roger and brother Glen both played hockey most of their lives. “It seems like the little towns do very well in the Kraft Hockeyville contest over the past few years, so I figured Osoyoos has a good a chance is any if the people here get on board and support me.
“I want people to write their stories and send them in to the Hockeyville website and you never know.”
The winning community not only receives a $10,000 upgrade to the local hockey rink, but also gets the thrill of hosting an National Hockey League pre-season game.
“That would be truly amazing,” said Martins.
Martins said she was playing on her home computer one night last week when she was having a tough time sleeping.
“I was reading about Kraft Hockeyville and thought why not do something,” she said. “We could sure use the money to fix up the Sun Bowl Arena and and I know Osoyoos is a great hockey town even though it’s a small town.
“I got up the next morning and put together a letter and sent it off to the Hockeyville website.”
Her entry not only has two letters detailing why Osoyoos should be named Hockeyville, but also has several pictures and a brief history of Junior B hockey in this community over the past two decades.
Anyone clicking onto the Kraft Hockeyville website locally can click Martins’ entry under Sun Bowl Arena and make their own contributions, she said.
Now that Osoyoos is officially entered, it’s up to other residents to join the cause, write letters , send pictures and make it clear this is one of the best hockey towns in the country, said Martins.
“The only way to win is to get the entire community on board,” she said. “I’ve got the ball rolling, now we need to get everyone in the community involved. Other towns this size have won this contest in the past, so we’ve got a chance if enough people get involved.”
Martins’ love of Canada’s national pastime runs deep.
Since the Osoyoos Rebels started Junior B hockey in this town during the 1996-97 season, Martins has volunteered as the chief of minor officials, booking scorekeepers, timekeepers and goal judges.
Her father is in charge of security at Coyotes home games this season and her brother is the team’s equipment manager. Her mom and dad have been billeting players for more than 15 years.
“Hockey runs deep in my family,” she said. “I’ve always loved the game and being around the rink and I still do. This is a small town and there’s not a lot of things to do in the winter, so I really enjoy it.”
She would hate to see junior hockey leave Osoyoos as it has in the past, she said.
“Unfortunately, it all comes down to money and I’d hate to see this team ever leave Osoyoos again,” she said. “We’re doing well this year and we have some of the best crowds in the whole KIJHL, so the future looks good, but I want to try and do my part to ensure this team remains in town for a long time.”
In her letter to the Kraft Hockeyville website, Martins details the “sense of belonging and community pride” she and local supporters felt when the Osoyoos Storm team of 2004-05 claimed not only the KIJHL regular season title, but also the league championship, before defeating the Beaver Valley Nite Hawks to win the Cyclone Taylor Cup and Western Canadian championship.
They captured that title and the Keystone Cup in Medicine Hat, Alta., to win the Western Canadian title.
“The Town of Osoyoos became so passionate and very supportive of our team, which was very thrilling to watch,” she said in her letter. “We showed our community spirit and passion for hockey in a way I had never seen before.”
“We all had so much community pride and the greatest achievement in Junior B hockey was attained and that is the title of champions of Western Canada,” she wrote.
Despite on-ice success, the team relocated to Kamloops the following year and Osoyoos was fortunate another group of owners brought the team back to town for the 2010-11 season, said Martins.
“I am worried if our arena is not given funding to operate we may lost another team in our community,” she said. “That is the main reason I decided to join Kraft Hockeyville.
“I do not want the Osoyoos Coyotes franchise to have to fold again, as I have seen happen to our past teams time and time again. I feel Osoyoos is a community filled with hockey pride even though we are such a small town in rural B.C.
Martins said she’ s excited to see if other hockey fans in town share the same passion and will be keeping a close eye on the Hockeyville website in the coming weeks.
