Help Concordia shoot for the cure

The Stingers normally favour maroon and gold, but if you pass by the Ed Meagher Arena (7200 Sherbrooke St. W.) on February 6 and 7, you’ll see pink everywhere.

Shoot for the Cure — an annual national charity drive — is back for the eighth time, and Stingers teams are accepting donations at this weekend’s hockey and basketball games against McGill.

Here are three things you need to know about Shoot for the Cure.

1.  It’s a Concordia tradition

This Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) initiative started seven years ago and has since grown to include all 45 Canadian universities with women’s basketball teams.

Each year, the participants collect donations at a specific home game. This time, at Concordia, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are being joined by both hockey teams, too.

2.  It’s for a good cause

Breast cancer affects one in nine Canadian women. It also accounts for one in four cancers diagnosed in the same population.

The money raised by the Stingers goes straight to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. Last year, CIS teams collected more than $138,000; in total, the initiative has raised more than $760,000.

3.  There will be cupcakes

The Stingers traditionally hold a bake sale during the Shoot for the Cure games. They also sell T-shirts and pink ribbons. Student athletes also circulate in the crowd and around the Recreation and Athletics Complex (RA) to collect donations.

On Friday, February 6, the Stingers men’s hockey team plays McGill in the Corey Cup. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. The women’s hockey team plays on home ice against McGill on Saturday, February 7, at 2:30 p.m. Both games take place in the Ed Meagher Arena at the Recreation and Athletics Complex (RA; 7200 Sherbrooke W.) on the Loyola Campus. 

The women’s basketball team takes on the Martlets at 2 p.m., and the men’s team goes up against the Redmen at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 7. Both games are at the Recreation and Athletics Complex.