Prince George, B.C. – The most highly anticipated weekend of golf in Northern British Columbia is returning to Prince George for a sixth consecutive summer! Over the past five years the Prince George Cougars and the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation have teamed up to raise just shy of $300,000 towards healthcare in Northern British Columbia, and this weekend the two sides will again be teaming up for the sixth annual Prince George Cougars Alumni Hospital Charity Golf Tournament which takes place Friday, July 14^th (at CN Centre) and Saturday, July 15^th (at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club).

Last year the event raised a total of $60,286.74. Those funds were put towards the purchase of Patient Monitors which aid in providing (CTCA) Computer Tomography Coronary Angiography services in the cardiac wing of the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. Funds from previous years have also contributed to a new Medtronic Paceart Optima System and Blood Pressure Monitors for the cardiac lab, a SPECT CT Scanner, a Rapid Transfuser and a Burn Tank! All proceeds from this weekend’s tournament will be put towards the purchase of a suite of ECHO ultrasounds for cardiac diagnostics and emergency care.

“Contributing nearly $300,000 over the past five years, this tournament continues to make an impact on better health outcomes for patients in the North,” commented Judy Neiser, CEO for Spirit of the North. “We couldn’t be more proud of the partnership we have with the Prince George Cougars Alumni and the Prince George Cougars management team as well as the sponsors and participants.  Their continued focus on the Regional Cardiac Strategy speaks volumes to their desire to see state of the art emergency and diagnostic cardiac equipment at UHNBC and we are so grateful to everyone for their support of this event.”

“It’s hard to believe how much we have been able to accomplish over the past five summers and this year is shaping up to be another successful fundraiser for the Spirit of the North,” adds Tournament Chairman Gary Samis. “At the end of the day this tournament is all about fun and celebrating the accomplishments and memories created by our alumni, but the end goal has always been to generate much-needed funds for our local hospital. We are so thankful to all sponsors, participants, staff, volunteers and of course, the alumni for making this such an enjoyable and rewarding weekend.”

Registration for the 2017 tournament includes the following:

Friday, July 14th at CN Centre:
– (From 4-5 PM for the General Public) A Meet and Greet, autographs and dressing room tours with Cougars Alumni, staff,  Rowdy Cat and four other well-known local mascots.
– A buffet dinner for all participants.
– A wide variety of live/silent auction items (featuring auctioneer Howard Blank).
– An exciting opportunity to bid on members of the Cougars Alumni/Staff to join your golf team.

Saturday, July 15th at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club:
– 18 holes of golf with a Cougars Alumnus or Staff Member at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
– Catered dinner.
– Prizes and contests.

Though the tournament has been sold out for months, fans of all ages are welcome to attend Friday’s meet and greet and autographs.

Once again, the Northland Auto Group is back as the tournament’s title sponsor, while Ken Goss (Remax Centre City Realty), and Scotiabank return as Gold Sponsors for the event. The Canadian Institute of Mining, the Coast Inn of the North and the Pomeroy Group have signed on as Silver Sponsors. Bronze Sponsors include: Bryant Electric, Finning, Heather Sadler Jenkins, KPMG, Royal Lepage, SMP R/V, Spectrum Resources, Star West Petroleum, TELUS, The Siding Specialists at W.R. Ventures, Trans Canada, Westcana Electric and Windsor Plywood. 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM are back on board as the event’s media sponsors.

Confirmed alumni for this year’s tournament include: Dan Hamhuis(1998-2002), Eric Brewer (1995-1998), Blake Robson (2000-2003), Dan Baum (1998-2003) Sam Ruopp (2012-2017), Jansen Harkins (2012-2017), Ty Edmonds (2012-2017) and Chase Witala(2010-2016). Additional guests include Vancouver Canucks alumni Darcy Rota (1979-1984) and Garry Monahan (1974-1978) along with Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Brandon Manning.

For more information, please contact the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation at spiritofthenorth@northernhealth.ca. You can access more information by heading to the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation’s website: http://www.spiritofthenorth.ca/fundraising-events/prince-george-cougars-alumni-hospital-charity-golf-tournament.