The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

fiâ€"â€"â€"â€" 22 - WArmtoo cnmnrcuz - Wednesday. May 16,2011 SiSkiIlS’ season on the brink O I O O Hentage hockey club may not we a team Without renewed community support BvBoaViwwtc . , W a" owner, 1 , Chronicle Staff v '9‘“ Egg 1 i , “M“ _- I . t wasn't supposed to be this way. When ’ y ‘ n .;- l I'l‘im Fedy took over as the president of “a. ' v‘ , g , ‘ t7 ' the Waterloo Siskins it was supposed to ~ I A . ‘ g g \ ‘ r , be a passing of the torch from one hockey v - s; . "' . , ' ‘ \‘ A ' generation to the next. A _ . t; " .1 r5 "9 1"” * ' ‘ " c , Instead, the entire board has resigned "" s y ‘ g g ,, , , ,f’” , . Y% I. . . and the team is facing financial ruin. we ‘ - ,.: ... . -' $0 ,_ "V' ” z ”5‘; ~ , . “ Vii” .' “The bottom line is that this is a not-for- / - ‘ ~. ., ' -' '_,, . x. p ‘ /’ i; a. .‘ '. ‘ :“ “I" profit community based team that requires ‘ l.” .- r’ "i? 3 ' t, ’ ‘ % ‘ w " ’; (t “A; it!) Loggia, the full support of the community and its V ‘ i â€" -' .'-~"_ 1 (4 .,’ .m , ' ; -:_ ' '-â€"â€"‘.‘ citizens to exist and flourish." said Fedy. ’ p A " .~',_â€" ‘25" /~ “:f’aw», ' 0 , “ “Right now that is not happening." ., *7: 3" ' ,‘ . in g. x;- 333; ‘ 'M il/f‘ Petty was a star on the Siskins team of the I, ( u” ‘ ) ' ' “r . v 7,4, rI‘IdU“: , 5 " " L early 19805 which won multiple Sutherland all \ . . .11 ' _’ mi“? *' Cups before he went on to earn his law {h - *3 \‘ ’4, I ~ 353$; L of: i, 19%“? . .. degree. ’. “53¢ \\ y r l {a ' . it ’4‘?“ 17%”; ‘- llc came back to the team to help keep . r r; - \ ~ -\ , , g , “N. 6:ng i l if. that winning tradition going. although the ‘ A}, \t , ‘ .-" ’ y~ ' ’ t 5 . V , " Siskins hadn't won a Sutherland Cup title ’ ‘ ‘1 {a ' D- , fl ' I "’3‘. since the 199384 season when they moved ’ ~ "A . 5‘ ' i - ‘ y "s «a»: “i into the Waterloo Memorial Recreation f I;- ' x -m- . ' 9’ fl~ . . Complex. ‘ ' as . _ w' ' “ â€" But with the club celebrating its 75th sea- ‘ r "R i if ‘4' _ v g ‘ r s,“ son in 2009-2010 and going for broke to win , ' . ‘ ‘ g i ‘ - ' ” . . . . . its unprecedented l2th Sutherland Cup. ”9 v; 3' ‘ .m- ' A‘tff 19%;": cerium wtkolfcgptsthesghee both the season and the support the team "' ,1: ‘ “ s, *' " an up rom rep at attersIon. urmg . . . i . - the 195556 season. it was the club 5 fifth ”“3”“ “‘m 0‘“ ‘0 be *1 d'saPPO'mnem- 7 , ., . is , . title. in total the Siskins have won 1 l OHA Jr. kedy took charge of the new board of ., 1, ., 4 fi ‘ ' , B titles and were named the Team ofthe directors and hockey executive last year. - "g ‘ ‘t ‘ . . . ff“??? Cent fortheir efforts mm looktng to rebuild the clubs fortunes x i Q t. A: 3’, ‘f through an aggressive new sponsorship plan & _ ‘1 s g ' ~.' 4 4. var fl this heritage and tradition going. mlfnzts :1: gaggettme rebuilding the teams Members of the Waterloo Siskins 1961-62 team celebrate the club's sixth championsh' ip. Fea- their 51:?330532’P‘fnm Ellipfgzfini: ‘ . tured in the photo was a young Peter Brill, to the right of the (up and prominently missing ’ .. g p y Unfortunately, the plan to bring more . . . . , would comeback. stable long- term funding to a hockey franâ€" some'teeth. brill came to be known as Mr. Siskm and was the architect for the clubs return to People interested in saving the Siskins are chise that has been synonymous with Waterâ€" fiamrsmeln the 19805 and ear y 1990" He was recently inducted into the Waterloo :93“: asked to contact Fedy at 519â€"804-3339 or e- 100 since 1934 petered out after a strong mail him at timleedylawcom. The next start. Waterloo Rec Complex. it eats up more than fundraising events, which fell off in atten- month is crucial to preserving this season. That left the team in a deficit situation, a third of the budget. dance drastically as well. In the meantime. Sisk'ins general manag- and with no hope of raising the funds To field a competitive team and return Almuni support has also fallen off, as for er Regan StOCOO said the CM) Will be holding required for the 201l/2012 season. the Siskins to the level of excellence it for- mer players and other team supporters have a spring camp this May 24 long weekend The situation was so untenable that the merly had in the Midwestern league would stopped turning out for the team. 811d Will be PMS fl ifthe W80“ is a 80- board and executive resigned, leaving only require about $120,000 to $130,000. Some former players stepped up last With the core ofthe club back. the 5W8 l‘edy as president. Fedy said the team has been running at a year. like Mike Blake. a former NHL goalie are expecting to field a competitive team. He remains the last bulwark between the much more modest budget in recent years with the Washington Capitals, but it wasn't After the surprising run that the Elmira team folding, and he's looking to the com- to remain competitive, but if they start cut- enough. Sugar Kings pulled off to win this year's munity to step up if they want this piece of ting comers to simply ice a team that would» Fedy said it's pretty simple ~ the Slskins Sutherland Cup, the Siskins mid“ not be far Waterloo's hockey heritage to continue for n't be the most ideal situation either for the need people in the community to make a otffrom challenging 383“! ”WNW”. this year. once-proud franchise. commitment and follow through on it. "Operations has been going ahead as i Fedy said that the team's operating In addition to the challenges in operating "Wheredoesit come from?" he asked. usual. and talking to recruits and giving , expenses continue to rise with no way to the team, the Siskins have also been hurt at "it's got to come from the community tours,'saidStooco. i make up the difference. the gate with a hardcore group of about 200 and we need people to go out and solicit and "The stufi above operation's side will be ; ‘lhe club's biggest expense is ice time. At to 300 supporters coming out to game. bring the money in. sorted out in the next little bit, but until that l $40,000 a year to play and practice at the The low attendance has affected team “The only reason I’m doing it is to keep happensâ€"it's businessasusual.” , , i a v i .0 i 1 ; a. 5 '- , , Get your true custom l ‘ ’ s .e» ‘ l i a: 4 ._ ‘ a“, ;f~ made orthotrcs at K-W I , A; 4 ,_ .. ,9; A l. , o o o 1 & ORTHOTICS CLINIC W“ ' F0“ & (”moms Chm 279 WEBER ST. N.. UNIT 17 * m b Se P DCh on , W n r e etrusic 38c - iro ist WATERLOO, ON a I health , a. V r9 D o - 90d www.kwfootandorthottcscltmc.com 5 1 9-884-4200