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A-Day at UCC

Saturday 26 September 2026 at Upper Canada College. Open Ice will be on the Avenue with one table, a real bag of camp gear, four quick games and a free draw.

A-Day starts in

Saturday 26 September 2026, from about 8:30 am to 4 pm. Upper Canada College, 200 Lonsdale Road, Toronto. Free to attend.

What A-Day is

Association Day at Upper Canada College

A-Day is Upper Canada College's annual community and school spirit day. It is free to attend, and thousands of people come.

  • A parade up the Avenue at about 8:45 am.
  • Prep SoccerFest from 9 to 10.
  • A barbecue from 11:00 to 2:30.
  • A silent auction, a vendor market and varsity games.
  • Alumni brunches and reunions.

The day runs from about 8:30 am to 4 pm at 200 Lonsdale Road. Upper Canada College is one of our program partners, and we are glad to be part of its day.

At the table

One 4-foot table on the Avenue, and no tent. Everything below happens on or around it.

01 / 05

Guess the Bag

A real camp gear bag, on a riser

  • We put a real bag of camp equipment on the table, and everyone who walks past gets a guess.
  • Every camper takes a full set like this home and keeps it.
Table front panel: Free hockey. Real equipment. They keep it. $1,060 sends one camper to a full camp. Photographs of a smiling child in hockey gloves, kids receiving gear, and a young skater.
02 / 05

Four quick games

Each one takes under a minute

  • Ice Slide: puck shuffleboard along the front of the table.
  • One-Timer: a shot on a knee-hockey net.
  • Tape Race.
  • And Guess the Bag, above.
Game card: The Ice Slide. Three pucks. Slide them, do not throw. Stop one past the far line. Wait for the lane to clear. Free to play. Win and take a second ballot for the draw.
03 / 05

A free draw

Free to enter

  • No purchase and no donation needed to enter. There is a skill-testing question on the ballot.
  • Last call is 3:15. We draw at 3:30, at the table.
04 / 05

Giving

At the table or on your phone

  • Give by card at the table, or scan the QR code and give online.
  • $1,060 puts one child through one full camp, all in. Families pay $0.
  • Sign a puck disc for the board, and take a sticker or a thank-you card.
Signable puck disc: Open Ice Initiative. I gave. Name, class year. Sign the puck. It goes on the board.
05 / 05

The volunteers

Students run the table

  • The table is run by a team of student volunteers, led by captains.
  • Two people handle every payment, every time.
  • Our volunteers have trading cards. Ask for one.
  • Andrew Adair, our founder and a student at Upper Canada College, will not be behind the table. He will be at the reunions and along the barbecue line. Say hello.
Poster: 1,620 hours. Nobody paid. Want in? Ask at the table. Photographs of teenage volunteers at the rink.
Why we are
there

Cost keeps children off the ice, not interest

Open Ice Initiative exists to break down the barriers to hockey by providing free programming, equipment and coaching to underprivileged youth in Toronto's highest need communities.

$750est.
one full set of equipment, all in. The child keeps it.
$1,060est.
one child through one full camp, all in
$0
what families pay
Banner: $1,060 is why some kids never play hockey. One camper, one camp, everything. Three taped-on photographs of young players on the ice.
The posters

Made from our own camps

Six of the posters we printed for the day, each made from photographs of our own camps. Select any one to see it full size.

Poster: The first hour on skates is mostly falling down. The second hour: less. Photographs of young skaters falling and volunteers helping them up.Poster: Most had never been on skates. Four days later they were playing a game. Photographs of beginners on the ice.Poster: Somebody taught you. $1,060 puts one child through a full camp. Photographs of teenage volunteers coaching young players one on one.Poster: Free ice is only half of it. Meals included. Photographs of children in team jackets, lunch being served, and players gearing up.Poster: No tryout. No fee. No gear to buy. Show up, the rest is covered. Photographs of children and volunteers skating at a rink.Poster: Three camps a year. March Break, summer, Christmas. Photographs of kids and coaches running drills on the ice.
The day

How Saturday runs

Times are approximate and set by Upper Canada College, except our free draw.

  1. A-Day begins.

  2. The parade comes up the Avenue.

  3. Prep SoccerFest.

  4. The barbecue.

  5. All day

    Guess the Bag and the games at our table. Silent auction, vendor market, varsity games, alumni brunches and reunions around the campus.

  6. Last call for the free draw.

  7. We draw, at the table.

  8. A-Day ends.

Where the
money goes

Christmas Camp 2026

Everything given at A-Day goes to Christmas Camp 2026, opening 15 December: five days of free hockey, planned at four Toronto arenas, for children aged 5 to 10. $1,060 puts one child through the camp with a full set of equipment they keep. Families pay nothing.

Give to Christmas CampChristmas Camp 2026Volunteer with us

Open Ice Initiative is an Ontario not-for-profit corporation. We applied to the Canada Revenue Agency for charitable registration in September 2026. Until registration is granted we cannot issue tax receipts, and gifts made before registration will not be receipted.

What our charity status means for a gift.