March Break Camp 2026
Five days of free hockey at Ted Reeve Community Arena in the east end, with professional coaches leading the on-ice program. It opened with a Media Day: former NHL defenceman Cameron Gaunce on the ice all day, and Councillor Brad Bradford answering campers’ questions.
Key facts
The camp at a glance
- Dates
- Mon 16 to Fri 20 March 2026Five days
- Arena
- Ted Reeve Community Arena175 Main Street, East Toronto
- Hours
- 9:00 am to 4:00 pmEvery day of camp
- Ages
- 5 to 10Grouped by ability
- Hours on ice
- 3 hours a dayAbout 15 hours in all, plus dryland
- Guest coach
- Cameron GaunceFormer NHL defenceman
- Partners
- HockeyStickManWith Pizza Pizza
- Cost to families
- $0Gear and lunch included
The story
Back to Ted Reeve, twice the size
Three months after the pilot, Open Ice returned to the east end for a full week.
March Break Camp 2026 ran from Monday 16 to Friday 20 March 2026 at Ted Reeve Community Arena, 175 Main Street at Main and Gerrard. Professional coaches delivered the on-ice program, and Open Ice funded every place, the equipment and the lunches.
Every child who joins Open Ice is new to hockey when they first arrive, and for many campers this was their first time on the ice. Some came back to us after starting at Christmas. Each day brought three hours of ice, plus dryland training and off-ice activities, and a free pizza lunch from Pizza Pizza.
Founder Andrew Adair and fellow Upper Canada College students spent their March Break on the ice with the campers. On the last day, every child went home with a full set of equipment, including helmets, sticks and jerseys donated by HockeyStickMan. It is theirs to keep.
Day by day
Five days at Ted Reeve
Every day ran 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, with three hours on the ice.
Day 01 · Monday 16 March
Media DayMedia Day with Cameron Gaunce
Campers arrived at 8:15 to HockeyStickMan merchandise and help from coaches with skates, helmets and gear checks. The first skate opened with the Open Ice Launch Lap, then Cameron Gaunce introduced himself and rotated through every station for the rest of the day.
- Morning ice: stops and starts, power strides and edges, then stations for crossovers, backward skating and transitions
- Puck stations: stickhandling, passing and receiving, shooting mechanics, then relay races
- Off the ice: dryland games and a question and answer session with Gaunce and Councillor Brad Bradford
- Afternoon: the first Open Ice Cup, presented by HockeyStickMan, with four teams named for our sponsors
Day 02 · Tuesday 17 March
On the newsSkills, and the camp on television
Campers settled into their ability groups for three hours on the ice, with dryland and off-ice games between sessions and pizza at lunch.
- CTV News and CP24 aired their segments on the camp
- Beach Metro Community News published its story on Media Day
- Skating basics for new skaters, puck work for the groups that were ready
Days 03 and 04 · Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 March
SkillsBuilding the game
The middle of the week was for repetition and progress: stride, edges and stopping, then puck control with the head up, passing to a partner and shooting on net. Small area games tied it together.
- Small groups so every child had a coach close by
- Campers who started the week holding the boards were gliding on their own
- Dryland and off-ice games between ice sessions
Day 05 · Friday 20 March
Closing dayGames, and gear goes home
The final day put the week together in small area games, then campers packed their equipment to take home. Every piece went home with the child who wore it.
- Small area games to finish the week
- Every camper left with a full set of equipment
- Coaches and volunteers sent each camper off with their gear bag
On the ice
Who coached and who visited
A former NHL defenceman with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning, now a TSN analyst. He reached out through our website offering to help, then spent all of Monday on the ice with the campers.
The Beaches-East York City Councillor joined Gaunce on the first morning to take questions from campers, off the ice, and spoke to them about lacing up for the first time.
A professional coaching staff ran the on-ice curriculum for the week, as they did for our Christmas pilot.
Ten student volunteers, including founder Andrew Adair’s classmates at Upper Canada College, helped on the ice and off it, about forty hours each across the week.
Donated helmets and cages, sticks, jerseys, apparel and accessories, and handed out merchandise on Media Day.
Spent his March Break at the rink running the camp with the Headquarters Team, from the first check-in to the last bag of gear.
What people said
From Beach Metro Community News, 17 March 2026, and a public review from a camp parent.
“Everybody started like this, just how you’re starting right now. Lacing them up and getting out there for the first time.”
Councillor Brad BradfordBeaches-East York, speaking to campers on 16 March 2026
“My favourite thing about hockey is not being good at hockey, it’s spending time together with friends. I would imagine you didn’t all know each other before showing up here this morning, but by the end of the week, you’re going to spend a bunch of time together, make some memories, and hopefully that’s something you can continue going forward.”
Cameron GaunceFormer NHL defenceman, answering a camper’s question
“Andrew’s initiative to bring people together and give them access to ice time, equipment, coaching, and professionals is something that’s truly special… I trust this camp will be something that you remember forever.”
Councillor Brad BradfordBeach Metro Community News
“Going into the March break camp, my boys could barely stand on their skates alone… they learned so much about hockey in one week… Everything was provided including the hockey gear which the boys got to keep, complimentary pizza lunches each day… All they want to do is hockey now.”
Jessica SerpaCamp parent, Google review
What campers learned
A week of firsts
Stride, edges and crossovers
Stops and starts, power strides and edge control, then crossovers, backward skating and transitions for those who were ready.
Control and confidence
Learning to stop, fall safely and get back up alone. For a brand-new skater, the biggest step of the week.
Stickhandling and shooting
Puck skill stations for stickhandling, passing and receiving, and shooting mechanics, with relay races to test them.
The Open Ice Cup
Four teams, four on four, a five minute running clock and no offsides. For many campers, the first real game of their lives.
Questions for a pro
Campers asked a former NHL player and a City Councillor their own questions, and heard that everybody starts as a beginner.
Gear and friends to keep
A full set of equipment to take home, and new friends made over five days at the rink.
Leadership
What our students gave and learned
March Break was the first camp where the Headquarters Team ran a Media Day, a sponsor tournament and a press day at once.
On the ice all week
Ten student volunteers gave about forty hours each: helping campers into gear, steadying first strides and running stations under the coaching staff.
Media Day and sponsors
The Headquarters Team planned Media Day minute by minute, built the Open Ice Cup around our sponsors, and matched HockeyStickMan’s donation with logo placement in the CTV News coverage.
Organization in practice
Registration and medical forms for every family, equipment sizing and ordering, lunch logistics and press relations: real work, with real deadlines.
Made possible by
Thank you to our Platinum Partners, MCW Consultants, Platform Insurance, Rockland Resources, TorontoToday and HockeyStickMan; to our Pilot Sponsors, Pizza Pizza and the PHPA; and to our program partners, Upper Canada College, Stronger Together Hockey, the Leaside Hockey Association and the Toronto Leaside Wildcats; and to the twenty-two Community Referral Partners who share our application with the families they serve. Every hour of ice, every set of equipment and every lunch at an Open Ice camp is theirs as much as ours.
Our partners and sponsors
Community Referral Partnerswho share our application with the families they serve
At this camp
The people who made it possible
- Equipment partnerHockeyStickMan Helmets and cages, sticks, jerseys, apparel and accessories, and the Open Ice Cup.
- Lunch partnerPizza Pizza A complimentary pizza lunch for campers on every day of camp.
- Platinum partnerMCW Consultants Cash support for ice and equipment, and Team MCW at the Open Ice Cup.
- Platinum partnerPlatform Insurance Funding for ice and equipment, and Team Platform at the Open Ice Cup.
- Media partnerTorontoToday A Spotlight feature before camp that helped families find us.
- Community partnerUpper Canada College The school community behind the student volunteers on the ice all week.
In the news
Media coverage
Four outlets covered the camp. A website visitor wrote to us the same day: “I just saw your segment on CTV.”
Mar 17, 2026
Mar 17, 2026
Mar 17, 2026
Feb 10, 2026
Mar 23, 2026
Mar 20, 2026
Photographs
The week in pictures
Get involved
Be part of the next camp
Christmas Camp 2026: five days of free hockey for children aged 5 to 10, planned at four arenas across Toronto.
Apply for Christmas Camp 2026. Applying takes about 15 minutes, and every place is free.
Apply nowVolunteerLead a house group on the ice, help with gear fitting, or run the front desk. Student volunteers earn community service hours.
Volunteer with usSponsor a campPartners fund the ice, the equipment and the lunches. One child’s full camp place is $1,060.
Become a partner