Westmount School hosts Husky Cup

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Westmount School hosted their annual Husky Cup to encourage some friendly competition between students in their hockey program on March 16.

The event saw Grade 5-6 students squaring off at the Strathmore Family Centre, with the entire rest of the school in the stands to cheer them on. 

“We have all over 400 students and all of our staff there cheering them on. Kids made signs before they came, so everybody’s really excited,” said Westmount School principal, Cori Hampson.

The Husky Cup is the cap off to Westmount School’s hockey program season, which runs from the end of September to the middle of March every year. 

According to Hampson, the program really encourages students who love hockey and/or physical activity to get out and have a chance to play. 

“It is a great opportunity for them to just get on the ice and learn and get along, build some teamwork skills and some collaboration – and, you know, a lot of pride in our school,” she said. “The hockey program services all different levels of ability. (Kyle) Tucker (who oversees the program) will take somebody who has never been on a pair of skates, to somebody who is playing in AA.”

Westmount School postponed their hockey program during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has otherwise run it annually for longer than Hampson was able to specify. 

She added it really does not matter whether a student has never skated before or if they already play on a team, as there is something in the program for everyone. 

“The great thing about it is it does not matter if you can skate or not. You can be in this group and then all of a sudden you are part of a team, which is really powerful,” said Hampson. “One of our missions and values for Westmount is collaboration and community. So how do we get everybody involved? What better way than to haul everybody from the school to watch and play a hockey game.”

Winning the Husky Cup comes with some bragging rights for the students, as there is a small trophy awarded to the team and they will be added to the plaques at the base.

“It’s just a fun event that everybody gets to be part of, and there is nobody not having a good time in there, and that’s really what this is about,” she said.

Ultimately, the Westmount students wearing black jerseys took home the 8-5 win over their white jersey counterparts.