Aidan’s Angle: Cure Cancer Classic drops the gloves against cancer

Kin wins their first Queen’s Classic hockey tournament

A recap of the CCC’s Queen’s Classic. IMAGE SUPPLIED BY: JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

This past weekend, the student-run club Cure Cancer Classic (CCC) ran the Queen’s Classic, an inter-faculty hockey tournament that raises money in support of the Canadian Cancer Society’s fundraising campaigns. The club also hosts the much-anticipated Cure Cancer Classic Commerce-Engineering Rivalry Game occurring in the winter semester.

The recent tournament saw 12 teams participating, with four women’s teams; Commerce, Engineering, Arts-Kin, Sci-Nursing, and eight men’s teams; Commerce, Engineering, Kinesiology, Arts, Science, and two free-agent teams made up of players from a variety of faculties.

It was a cut-throat tournament, with Kinesiology winning the men’s division, and Sci-Nursing winning the women’s division.

This marked a significant shift in what we usually see out of CCC tournaments, with Kinesiology being the first team other than Engineering or Commerce to win the men’s bracket.

This should provide ample excitement as to how tournaments will play out through the remainder of the school year. This includes the Commerce Classic game and the Commerce-Engineering Rivalry Game.

The Journal spoke with Ben Schwartz, Comm ’25, and logistics director for CCC, who said the success of the CCC as a fundraiser demonstrates the support Queen’s students have for the cause and their ability to create change.

“To the CCC team, witnessing the Leon’s Centre sold out in March is like seeing the northern lights. It’s an incredibly captivating and rewarding sight and we are on a mission to make that happen year in and year out.”

The tournament raised over $117,000, all of which will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. If you missed your chance to contribute to this tournament, CCC hosts a variety of fundraising events throughout the school year.

The Commerce Classic is a two-day intermural hockey tournament where eight of Ontario’s top undergraduate business programs face off in support of Cancer research. The tournament is set to take place on Jan. 19, and teams can register at curecancerclassic.com.

CCC’s initiatives serve as a strong example of the benefits that come out of student-run clubs on campus, and I hope in reading about the impact that CCC had on the Canadian Cancer Society’s fundraising campaigns, students and Queen’s community members are incited to be proactive and make a positive difference.

“It’s always amazing to see students from a variety of faculties come together for a weekend of competition. Competing against each other on the ice, but together against cancer,” Schwartz said.

This article was originally written by Aidan Michaelov at The Queen's Journal and posted on December 1, 2023. You can find the original article here.