What we do
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.
Talent was never the barrier. Cost was.
Hockey teaches teamwork, perseverance and discipline. It builds confidence and it creates lifelong memories. For too many children in Toronto, the cost of equipment, registration and travel puts all of that out of reach before anyone touches the ice.
Who we are
An Ontario not-for-profit
Open Ice Initiative Inc. is an incorporated not-for-profit organization in Ontario, incorporated under the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010. Founded in 2025 by Andrew Adair, it is governed by a volunteer board of directors and accountable for every dollar it receives.
What we do
Free camps, start to finish
We run free Open Ice Camps for youth from Toronto's highest need neighbourhoods. Every child who joins Open Ice has never played hockey before, and no experience is needed.
Campers get roughly three hours of ice per day plus dryland training, professional on-ice coaching, free lunch, and a full set of equipment that is theirs to keep permanently under our Keep Your Gear policy. Families pay nothing.
Who we serve
How we choose who we serve
We do not run first come first served. We use our own applicant selection system, built in part on Toronto District School Board Learning Opportunities Index data and the City of Toronto Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, to reach the highest need communities: Regent Park, St. James Town, Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, Oakridge.
The spots go to the children facing the greatest barriers, not to the families with the fastest internet connection.
Our history
The Open Ice story
Open Ice began in 2025 as a Grade 10 student's idea and ran its first camp that December. In under a year it has gone from one pilot week at one East Toronto rink to camps at two arenas, with four arenas planned for this winter.
December 2025
Christmas Camp 2025: the pilot
Four days at Ted Reeve Community Arena in East Toronto, from 29 December 2025 to 2 January 2026, for children from St. Paul Catholic School in Regent Park, referred through Upper Canada College's Horizons program. Brand-new, professionally fitted equipment went home with every camper.
January to March 2026
Horizons weekly sessions
Saturday sessions at Upper Canada College, run through UCC's Horizons program, so camp alumni keep skating and work toward organized minor hockey.
March 2026
Incorporation and March Break Camp 2026
On 1 March 2026 Open Ice Initiative Inc. was incorporated as an Ontario not-for-profit. From 16 to 20 March the March Break camp ran at Ted Reeve, with on-ice coaching led by Cameron Gaunce, a visit from Councillor Brad Bradford on day one, and coverage on CTV News, CP24 and in Beach Metro News.
August 2026
Summer Camp 2026
Four days, 4 to 7 August, at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens, with a second site at Ted Reeve Community Arena. Eight house groups, four skill tiers set on the first morning, two ice sessions a day, and the Open Ice Cup to close the week.
September 2026
A-Day at Upper Canada College
Saturday 26 September: one table on the Avenue with a real camp gear bag, games and a draw, telling the UCC community what Open Ice does.
Upcoming
Christmas Camp 2026
Five days for ages 5 to 10, planned at four arenas across Toronto, with a separate gear-fitting session before camp. Applications are open.
2027 and beyond
Chapters across Ontario
Student-led chapters at Ontario high schools, each running a free camp to the Open Ice standard. Applications open in November 2026, with the first chapter camps planned from July 2027.
Why it matters
Why it matters
Research from the Aspen Institute finds that children from low income families are far less likely to participate in organized sport than their higher income peers. The UNICEF report Getting into the Game links sport participation to better academic performance, mental health and social development.
We are not trying to produce professional players. We are trying to make sure that the door is open.
Open Ice leadership
Founder and President
Andrew Adair
Andrew Adair founded Open Ice Initiative in 2025 as a Grade 10 student at Upper Canada College, to remove the financial barriers that keep underprivileged youth out of hockey.
He built the Headquarters Team, recruited professional coaching and secured the partners who fund the ice and the equipment. Anything that commits money or the organization's name goes through him.
Board of Directors
Board of directors
A volunteer board of directors oversees the organization as a whole. Directors are not paid, and the board is accountable for every dollar Open Ice receives.
Headquarters Team
The Headquarters Team
The twenty-member Headquarters Team works alongside the founder, Andrew Adair, and an adult administration team, under the volunteer board of directors. It makes sure every Open Ice chapter across Canada and Ontario runs to the Open Ice standard, and it runs our flagship camps in Toronto, supported by on-ice volunteers and professional coaching staff.
Where we are going
Chapters across Ontario
Open Ice is expanding across Ontario. Applications for new student-led chapters open in November 2026, with the first chapter camps planned from July 2027.
What everyone gains
Open Ice is built so that everybody on the ice leaves better than they arrived: the children who come to play, and the students who give their time to make it happen.
The campers
Every camper who joins Open Ice has never played hockey before. Over one camp they learn to skate with confidence, stop, handle a puck, pass and play as a team, coached by professionals and grouped by ability from the first morning.
Just as important, they learn that they belong in a rink. They make friends, cheer for each other, and take on daily challenges built around courage, teamwork, resilience and leadership. They leave with real skills, new friendships and a full set of equipment to keep playing.
The volunteers
Camp volunteers are Program Assistants. Each one leads a small house group of campers through the day, under professional coaching: on the ice, at lunch and in the closing circle.
They learn to lead, to communicate clearly with children and families, to stay calm when a plan changes and to work as one team. Their hours count toward the community service every Ontario student needs to graduate.
The Headquarters Team
Members of the twenty-member Headquarters Team run Open Ice as the real organization it is. They manage budgets and sponsorship, book ice, plan logistics, build partnerships with companies and community groups, run media days and speak in public on behalf of the organization.
These are real business skills: management, organization, budgeting, communication, public speaking and leadership, learned by doing them for a cause that matters. Students who join the Headquarters Team grow into confident, capable leaders.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no fee, no equipment cost and no deposit. Lunch is provided. Families pay nothing.
How do you decide who gets a spot?
Not first come first served. When more families apply than there are spots, we rank applicants using our own selection system, which draws in part on Toronto District School Board Learning Opportunities Index data and the City of Toronto Neighbourhood Improvement Areas.
Is Open Ice Initiative a registered organization?
Open Ice Initiative Inc. is an incorporated not-for-profit organization in Ontario, incorporated under the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010. It is governed by a volunteer board of directors and accountable for every dollar it receives.
Where do the camps run?
Our camps have run at Ted Reeve Community Arena in East Toronto and at Leaside Arena, where Summer Camp 2026 was held. Christmas Camp 2026 is planned at four arenas across Toronto. Horizons weekly sessions have run at Upper Canada College.
How much does it cost you to put one child through a camp?
$1,060 a child, for one camp, all in. That includes the $750 set of equipment the camper keeps. It covers one camp, not a season.
How is Open Ice funded?
Corporate sponsorship, individual gifts, monthly giving through the Blue Line Club, and grants.
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
By the numbers
Where the program stands. Every figure links to how we count it on our numbers page.