Skip to content
Close

Register with YACC

Enter your first name
Enter your last name

Localife Edmonton: Foiled by Old Man Winter

 image 

Ashley and I thought long and hard as to what fun event we could host in January. We really wanted to take Localife outside into the great winter environment that Edmonton is blessed with for (what often seems like) the majority of the year. However, the temperature is never an easy thing to plan around, often going from well below negative thirty-five degrees to zero and then back to negative thirty-five again all within a couple days. To try and avoid the possibility of asking our Edmonton and area Localifers to spend too much time outside in conditions commonly found in the Arctic Circle, we decided to keep the event in the great indoors.
With the return of NHL hockey, we knew that our Localifers had a rejuvenated hunger for competition, and we needed to feed that appetite. So on January 19, the very day that the first games of the new NHL season were played, we organized a mini-Olympics competition to take place at Schank’s Sports Bar.
The competition would put our members’ greatest skills to the test through events including three-ball billiards, virtual auto racing, virtual golf, and mini-golf. The stage was set for Young Adults Cancer Canada’s (YACC) most anticipated sporting challenge ever. Unfortunately, Old Man Winter had other plans, and on the day of our competition, Edmonton received one of the harshest blizzards yet. Road conditions were treacherous and only a fraction of our confirmed competitors were able to make it out.
Ashley feared that if (or as she claims when) she won the mini-Olympics, there would forever be a footnote associated with her victory saying “due to the diminished number of competitors.” Factoring this into account, we decided to scrap the mini-Olympics until a later date when Ashley’s victory could be recorded as an official and legitimate win in the history books.
We instead shifted our activity to the bowling lanes that are also found in Schank’s. We learnt several interesting things during our bowling that afternoon. The most evident fact was that it appears none of us will be joining any sort of professional bowling league. I believe we were able to swiftly accept that. We ended up bowling several games, which through a natural sorting of the teams, resulted in a battle of the sexes. I can honestly say, that had there not been faulty equipment and technical glitches, the boys’ team would have pulled off the victory! Sadly, we shall never know who truly could have won and I guess it will be counted as a tie.
The bowling helped build another hunger—a ravenous appetite for great food—even before the last pins toppled! The joyous spirit gained from our bowling adventures continued into the cold evening with relaxed conversation. It was a pleasantly easy social-flow, mixed with new and old faces. Laughs were definitely had by everyone as the finest of pub foods were consumed. Better yet, we were able to enjoy some of the first live NHL hockey games that had begun later that afternoon. Ashley and I would like to thank the spectacular people at Schank’s for allowing our group to use the bowling lanes at no cost and for providing us with complimentary soft drinks!
While it may have been a little disappointing that the weather prevented everyone from attending, we fully enjoyed our escapades to Schank’s Sports Bar nonetheless. This will also significantly add a higher level of anticipation for the next event that we are in the midst of planning! Make sure to check back for details in the coming weeks. Rest assured that Ashley and I will be praying to Old Man Winter that he grace us with good weather this time, so that no one is forced to stay home!
Keep it real!
Dan and Ash

Browse news by similar topics

Check this out!

View more news from YACC:
Localife Ottawa: Cancun Jackson

We LOVE our partners!