Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Losing has been the norm over the last three seasons for the Tod Division’s Campbellford Rebels, but word broke recently that the Junior C hockey town is facing a much bigger loss-a possible folding of the franchise.
The longtime rivals to the Napanee Raiders are facing a numbers crunch as they may not even be able to pay their bills for the 2018-19 season.
With no actual ownership in place and the coaching staff left to pay for the team’s expenses out of their own pocket, the team has turned to GoFundMe in hopes of raising $11,000 just to finish the season.
“When I heard how bad the situation was I discussed it with (the coaching staff) and thought there must be some way somehow to get some help from the folks out there in order to finish the season,” explains Cathy Yeager, a parent of one of the Rebels players who launched the GoFundMe page.
Since launching on Nov. 25, the campaign has raised $2,520 of their $11,000 goal.
Yeager says some have asked why she’s calling on the community to help raise the money.
“We’ve already paid,” she said of the parents. “We pay a fee for the kids which includes certain things that the kids aren’t getting.”
She says some of the gear and equipment promised to the kids for signing wasn’t delivered. The team is now scrambling to pay for transportation to away games and ice rental fees for home games.
Uncertainty off the ice has translated to rough seasons on the ice. The once proud Rebels franchise, which joined the then Empire B League in 1992, has one just two games over the last three seasons. including just one so far this year. It does boast a proud history however, having won the league six times and reached the Schmalz Cup semifinals in 2012. They last reached the playoffs in 2015, losing to the Raiders in the semifinals.
Despite the uncertainty around them, the team is still attempting to win hockey games says the coaching staff.
“We’re just trying to get through this season and keep the boys on the ice,” said Rebels head coach Mike Summerfeldt. “We’re still trying to make the team better, still trying to bring guys in. This is a complete rebuild of a year. We’ve got pretty well a whole new team. We’ve got three or four guys from last year held over. We’re trying to build a hockey team here. It’s a three year plan. This is Year One of that plan but it looks like it’s going to be halted to a stop right here after Year One.”
“They’re staying positive despite the win-loss record,” Summerfeldt said of his players, who most recently suffered a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Clarington Eagles on Sunday, their 15th consecutive loss “They’re showing up every night, they’re coming to practice and they’re having fun.”
Summerfeldt wouldn’t comment on rumours that there are some teams interested in acquiring the team. He says he’s more focused on playing hockey while attempting to organize a fundraiser in January to help offset their bills. He says he’s hoping to clear all the debt around the team so that if any new ownership were to take on the team, they’d do so with a clean slate.
A link to the team’s GoFundMe page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/junior-c-rebels-have-hockey-hearts-but-need-help.