University of Manitoba students from the Bannatyne campus will be lacing up their skates and hitting the ice in the first ever Banny Bowl hockey tournament on Feb. 8 at the MTS Iceplex.
According to event organizer and fourth-year dentistry student Todd Honcharik, the main goal of the tournament is to bring students from the faculties of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, and the school of medical rehabilitation together for a day of sports and socializing. The hockey starts at 1:50 p.m. and wraps up at 6:30. The day will be capped off with a party from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. at the Exchange Event Centre on Bannatyne Avenue.
“I wanted to get an event that involved the whole campus, instead of ‘this is a dentistry social’ or ‘this is a med event,’” said Honcharik. “A hockey tournament seemed like something that might work.”
The event has garnered enough interest from students around the campus for the tournament to feature four teams – one representing each area of focus on Bannatyne, and two “All-Star” teams that will face off in the marquee match-up.
Three other Bannatyne students helped to bring Honcharik’s vision to life: Paige Isabey and Robyn McClelland from the faculty of medicine, and Alanna Doell from the faculty of pharmacy. It was their input that led to the event being partnered up with the Winnipeg Interprofessional Student-Run Health (WISH) Clinic.
The WISH Clinic is open on Sundays at Mount Carmel Clinic just off of Main Street. Since opening its doors in March 2008, the clinic has allowed students to provide a valuable service to the community of Point Douglas, going beyond medical checkups and offering youth programming and outreach events for the surrounding neighbourhoods.
“It’s a clinic that everyone on the campus kind of participates in to help low-income people, so it just seemed like the perfect thing to do,” said Honcharik.
Katlyn Taylor is a pharmacy student and a co-chair at the WISH Clinic.
“We’re really excited to have this new event going on to support the WISH Clinic, and provide a fun opportunity for all students,” said Taylor.
Taylor hopes that events like the Banny Bowl will provide some exposure for the WISH Clinic, which only operates with the support of the U of M student body.
“WISH Clinic, in my own personal experience as a student at Fort Garry campus, is really something that’s been kept on the down-low,” said Taylor. “Not many people know about it, unless you’re in a few key faculties such as nursing or human ecology.”
“It’s really unfortunate, because there’s opportunities for every student, from every academic background and year of study. So this is something that we’re really trying to promote and get the word out there so more students can be involved in this initiative.”
This is Honcharik’s final year at the U of M. If the Banny Bowl proves to be successful in its first year, he says there is hope for it to become an annual event.
“There are some people in med who are really into it, and willing to take it on next year,” said Honcharik.
Social tickets will get you into both the hockey games and the Exchange District party, and are available for $10 at the Answers kiosk on the Bannatyne and Fort Garry campuses.
