More than 250 UK-based students in town on a ski holiday got a taste of the good ol’ hockey game. 

The match, featuring the local oldtimers hockey clubs Crisp Pils and Rangers, helped create a bond between the international visitors and the skate-wearing Jasperites for whom they cheered, organizers said.

Last year, a similar on-ice initiative raised $500 each for three Jasper families who lost ski equipment in the 2024 Jasper Wildfire. This year, a February 18 effort brought in $1,300 for Minor Sports and the same amount again on March 30 to assist the families of Danica Hills and Kayla Peacock, two local hockey teammates who on February 23 lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident on Highway 16. 

Duncan Wilding of Experience Education, the UK-based organization that facilitates the Jasper visit every year, said the students were grateful for the opportunity to help raise funds for the local community in Jasper.

“As a business we have been sending groups to Jasper to ski at Marmot Basin for many years, and plan to for many years to come,” Wilding said. 

Jasper Local staff // info@thejasperlocal.com