Participants in the Syracuse Pond Hockey Classic event dare the harsh temperatures

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Marita Green, a mother who traveled from Canada to see her son play in the Syracuse Pond Hockey Classic (SPHC), admitted the main purpose of the tournament was to have fun. He knew the stakes weren’t high enough to guarantee unnecessary physicality in the games.

“(My son is) a big guy, and he used to check a lot,” Green said. “I said to him, ‘Don’t you dare check the pond.'”

As the weather in Syracuse subsides, it can be difficult for residents to get out of the house and interact with the community. Despite temperatures of nine degrees – which seemed -8 degrees – about 200 people arrived on Saturday to spend a fun pond day at Lake Hiawatha in Onondaga Park for the SPHC.

Dan Downes, first deputy chief of the Syracuse Fire Department, said the incident showed that Syracuse residents are ready to go out and have fun even when the weather is not favorable.

“People’s reaction when it’s 5 or 10 degrees outside is to stay inside and bow down,” Downes said. “But we as a community know we can still have fun when it’s 5 degrees outside, bundle, lay down. I think everyone has fun.”

After the tournament’s opening year in 2020, the SPHC was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19, the SPHC press release said. This year, viewers of the event realized the importance of the tournament after a year of uncertainty.

Scott Heffron, a Syracuse resident living near Hiawatha Lake, said the incident signaled community recovery after the pandemic.

“It’s a sign that we’re getting COVID behind us, and things are getting back to normal and we can get out and enjoy each other,” he said.

This year’s SPHC featured more than a dozen teams from across New York City, seven of which returned in 2020. The original idea for the tournament originated from a group of Syracuse natives, including Mayor Ben Walsh, who grew up skating in the park. The SPHC said in a press release.

Prior to this year’s SPHC, Walsh said it was difficult to undo last year’s event after a significant reaction from the Syracuse community in 2020.

“We hope hockey fans and everyone who loves winter activities will come out to this year’s tournament,” Walsh said in a press release.

Even in nine-degree weather, participants like Scott Heffron were excited about a fun day at the Syracuse Pond Hockey Classic. Meghan Hendricks | Photo editing software

Walsh’s wishes came true when hundreds of people gathered to spend time playing music, food, drinks and hockey on the shores of a 17-acre lake. Viewers lined the snowy shores of the lake to see six troughs playing games simultaneously.

Baldwinsville resident Kirk Kwaczala, who played in the tournament, was shocked by the large number of participants.

“Because of the weather and the predicted temperatures, there are a lot more people here than I thought. Pretty fun, you know, ”he said.

Although the SPHC was advertised as a competition event, many people saw it more as a competition because the tournament doubled as a fundraising event for cancer research. Some of the proceeds from this year’s event went to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Luke’s Army Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.

Downes talked about the competition not being the most important aspect of this year’s SPHC.

“There’s really more fun on the ice than the spirit of competition … We really just want to have fun,” Downes said. “It’s not looking for a reward; it’s looking for a smile. “