Champions for Charity Tryouts Bring 70 Community Leaders to Tryouts
By Jeff Hicks
KITCHENER —
Gold ribbons flashed and shone in Stephanie Stretch’s tied-back hair.
The Kitchener City Councillor, with every pendulum step forward and back, glittered and glowed among 70 community contenders and first-time fighters hoping to shine in the Tapestry Hall boxing ring as one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions for Charity come April 24.
You’ve to to stand out if you hope to stand up for McMaster Children’s Hospital and MacKids.
“Make yourself memorable in a crowd,” said the mother of two, who has learned a thing or two with her girls trying out for teams.
“The woman with gold ribbon in her hair? They know who you are.”
Brokers and bartenders.
Politicians and top executives.
Cultural baristas and veterinary technicians.
Bujold, the two-time Olympian, walked around the Sydfit Health Centre floor during tryouts. Clipboard in hand and surrounded by her dedicated volunteer team, notes were made.
The Champions for Charity legacy — with more than a $1-million raised for kids in the community over three gala events — grows each year.
Twenty first-time fighters. Ten Ontario Boxing Associating-sanctioned bouts.
Fifteen weeks of training, under the safety-first eye of coaching director Syd Vanderpool, a former North American belt-holder.
One huge commitment to fundraising for local kids in need of top-notch care.
“The energy in the room was unreal,” Bujold said of the tryouts atmosphere.
“Making selections this year is going to be tougher than ever.”
The fundraising lineage of Champions for Charity is knockout impressive.
More than $650,000 was raised last year.
The toe-to-toe temerity of those who have dared to step out of their comfort zone and into the ring to get socked in the jaw has community clout too. The Champions rally those around them.
“You are ‘Beacons of Influence’ for others,” said past Champion Jaime Wilson, the Vice-President of Development for the Waterloo Regional Health Network Foundation.
“People want to follow you through your journey. People want to support you.”
And people want to be a Champion for Charity. It’s a badge of honour. Chef Nick Benninger, a Champion two years ago, still gets called “Champ’ at work.
“That never, ever gets old,” he told tryout hopefuls, who will wait for an email letting them know if they’ve made the cut.
An army of coaches and champions alumni will assist them, Bujold beamed.
“I’m so proud of how many past Champions have stayed involved and want to mentor the next wave of participants.”
