“Hockey Yes, Tobacco No”

Once again, tobacco prevention in the Prince George area is at centre ice!  The Prince George Cougars, Canadian Cancer Society, and Northern Health  have teamed up for yet another year to launch the “Hockey Yes, Tobacco No” campaign. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of tobacco free sports and influence youth behaviour through positive role models such as Capt. Greg Gardner and Dana Tyrell from the Prince George Cougars.  

Dropping the puck - Northern Health Regional
Tobacco Reduction Coordinator Stephanie Powell
and Canadian Cancer Society volunteer Shaun Greffard

BC Athletes to Speak Out Against Tobacco Use
PacificSport registered athletes to share “be your best. be tobacco free” message

(September 11th , 2007) –
The Tobacco Free Sports (TFS) program has a new face – nine new faces to be exact.
Starting this month, the Tobacco Free Sports program, a provincial initiative funded by the Ministry of Health in partnership with PacificSport, Alcohol Drug Education Services (ADES) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), will have nine PacificSport registered athletes representing the program as the Tobacco Free Sports Athlete Ambassadors. < more

Tobacco Free Sports 2007 Provincial Hockey Showcase

Young hockey players from across British Columbia were given the opportunity to participate n the 2007 Tobacco Free Sports Provincial Hockey Showcase. The showcase event was part of the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup National Junior A Hockey Championship that took place in Prince George, BC on May 4th-11th 2007. < more  

Tobacco Free Sports at the 2007 Provincial Champianships

With over 160 teams and over 3200 participants, the British Columbia Soccer Association's Youth Provincial Championships are the largest organized single sport championships in the province. Consisting of 27 catagories, boys and girls, U12-U18, the event took place from July 5th-8th 2007. < more

Province of Soccer

Visit the home of the Province of Soccer at www.provinceofsoccer.com and register all your soccer events during the Province of Soccer month from June 8th - July 11th. This event-filled month includes several key celebrations, beginning with the Kickin' Day of Soccer on Friday, June 8 and the More Sports World Soccer Jam 2007 at Empire Bowl in Vancouver on June 23rd, 2007.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority’s (VIHA) Tobacco Control Program has developed a positive partnership with the hockey community. From high-level work with BC Hockey to team level work with Junior A & B hockey teams building of relationships has proven to be the key in promoting Tobacco Free Sports. VIHA was able to obtain funding through the Ministry of Health to assist BC Hockey with creating a hockey-specific manual for training. The Athlete training manual, which is currently being distributed to over 60,000 hockey players throughout BC, contains tobacco free sport messaging imbedded in its content.

VIHA is currently working with Junior A and B hockey teams on the island to encourage adoption of tobacco free policies and raise the profile of the tobacco free sport message. The Junior B Peninsula Panthers has adopted a Tobacco Free Policy and is working diligently to promote tobacco free sports to their fans and within their community.