Hurricanes To Hold Clinics At Fort Bragg Rink

Back in the middle of April, a member of the organization, Defending the Blueline, contacted me to see if I would publish an article concerning the scheduled closing of Fort Bragg's Cleland Ice Rink. The rink was to be closed, even though it was self supporting, in order to save money related to the sequestration cuts.

I wrote and posted an article which included information regarding their online petition and I gave DFBL some contact information for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Fort Bragg Ice Rink Being Closed

There is good news to report!

Yesterday, the Hurricanes announced that the rink will stay open and to celebrate they will hold some clinics at the rink on Friday afternoon. Shane Willis will run the clinics and Eric Staal will make an appearance at the news conference.

Congratulations to the Cleland Ice Rink and all the skaters at Fort Bragg who will be able to keep their rink. And congratulations to all the people who worked so hard to keep it open.

The team's release follows:

CANES TO CELEBRATE FORT BRAGG ICE RINK WITH CLINICS

Team helped Cleland Ice Rink stay open; Eric Staal to visit with youth players

RALEIGH, NC – Doug Warf, Vice President of Marketing for the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes and Executive Director of the Kids ‘N Community Foundation, today announced that the team has formed a partnership with Defending the Blue Line (DTBL) and the Cape Fear Youth Hockey Association (CFYHA) to keep the Cleland Ice Rink on Fort Bragg open and active. Cleland Ice Rink, which primarily serves Fort Bragg military families and is the home of the CFYHA Jr. FireAntz, had been targeted for at least a temporary shutdown.

The Hurricanes were informed of the Cleland Ice Rink issue by DBTL a non-profit organization that helps subsidize hockey costs for military families. The team helped DTBL and CFYHA design a plan to keep the rink open, and made a $10,000 donation from its Kids ‘N Community Foundation.

The Hurricanes and DBTL will celebrate Cleland Ice Rink with a news conference and a special hockey clinic on Friday, June 14. Hurricanes captain Eric Staal will participate in the news conference and meet with youth hockey players off the ice before and after the clinics. A timeline for the day’s events is below:

2 p.m. Youth clinic led by Shane Willis for younger CFYHA players (50 players)

2:45 p.m. News conference and check presentation

3 p.m. Youth clinic led by Shane Willis for older CFYHA players (50 players)

The CFYHA is a non-profit organization for individuals looking to learn to play or participate in travel hockey programs.