Algoma Steel employees, retirees, and community partners are lacing up the skates today for day one of the 16th annual Bring a Doctor Home hockey tournament.
24 teams across five divisions will compete in the six-day tournament at the John Rhodes Community Centre in an effort to keep physicians in the Sault.
Players collect and contribute pledges that go towards a bursary for graduating students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine who have ties to Sault Ste. Marie or the Algoma District.
The funding helps the physicians cover part of their outstanding education fees while encouraging them to practice in the Sault.
Running for the first time since 2020, tournament director Frank DeMarco is thrilled to see the event making a comeback.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he says. “We’re trying to help the doctors through university and then get them home.”
DeMarco says five of the past bursary recipients are currently practicing in the Sault.
“To see these young doctors and their appreciation of how we helped them through their financial times is pretty grand,” he says. “They’re very appreciative of it.”
The community is invited to cheer the teams on between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, with semi-finals taking place on Friday and finals on Saturday.
Admission is by donation, and all proceeds go to fund scholarships for NOSM.
Setting a goal of $30,000 this year, DeMarco says the tournament has raised over $450,000 for the bursary since 2006.
“We’d like to thank the community and the sponsors, as well as Algoma Steel for being overwhelmingly gracious for their donation this year.”
For more information on the tournament, visit here.