TIM HORTONS BACKYARD CLASSIC TO BE HELD JANUARY 27th
The Tim Hortons Backyard Classic has been rescheduled to be held January 27th. “The weather forecasts from various sources have made us very optimistic for the Tim Hortons Backyard Classic to be on ice January 27th. We only need to freeze 4 inches of ice to skate, and with the predicted cold front coming we should have ice,” Nick Penberthy said.
For the last four years, the tournament was played on Penberthy’s East Amherst, NY backyard ice rink, which his family sets up each winter at their home. In 2011, it was expanded to a second Williamsville, New York location hosted by Chris Taggart, who serves as Co-Chair of the event. Last year, the tournament was forced into a street hockey tournament due to the lack of cold weather, making players and tournament officials alike eager to get back to the ice. In 2012, the event was renamed the Tim Horton’s Backyard Classic thanks to the generous support of Tim Horton’s Café & Bake Shop, who continues to be the Platinum Sponsor of the 2013 event.
This year with the relocation to the Rose Garden (2753 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY) the tournament has registered 24 teams and with the extra time expects to have more teams sign up for the 2013 event. Registration for the 2013 Tim Hortons Backyard Classic is still available online as limited spots remain at www.timhortonsbackyardclassic.com.
The hockey tournament was founded in 2008 by East Amherst, New York resident Nicholas Penberthy, currently a sophomore at SUNY Cortland (www.cortland.edu) studying childhood education. The Tim Hortons Backyard Classic has raised over $20,000 for Hasek’s Heroes, an organization founded by NHL great and former Buffalo Sabre Dominik Hasek, which introduces city youth to ice hockey and life skills. The proceeds from this event will be used to build an educational resource center.
