Hockey Goes Higher. Hockey with Altitude!

Setting a World Record on Ice

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The Hockey Foundation is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit with a global mission to empower under-served youth, promote social change, peace and prosperity, and support community development through hockey.  

Sport has the power to change lives, and we've seen the incredible impact of hockey in remote/under-served regions around the world, such as the Himalayan region of Ladakh, India.

It is with our mission in mind that we are organizing (and playing in) the Guinness World Record highest altitude hockey game, scheduled for early February 2018.

But before we get in to the details about this event, it's important to understand more about The Hockey Foundation in general, which you can do by watching our video, "How Hockey Helps":

To help us achieve our mission and change lives, one puck at a time, The Hockey Foundation:

• provides access to the game through equipment donations and coaching clinics
• coaches in a positive, constructive, fun environment that reinforces teamwork, accountability, resilience and critical thinking
• supports the community beyond hockey, focusing on education, socio-economic and/or infrastructural needs

The Hockey Foundation has been supporting ice hockey in India since 2009 and we've seen the game impact thousands of lives in communities around the country through our sustained support of individual hockey players and organizations.  We've not only donated nearly 7,000 pieces of hockey equipment to help increase access to the game, but have also donated hundreds of books to schools around Ladakh, in conjunction with our educational partner ILSC, to support English-language literacy and improve the graduation rate in this under-served community.

We've also focused our efforts on supporting girls hockey in India, and have seen the young women of Ladakh greatly empowered by their opportunity and ability to play hockey and  gain from all of the invaluable characteristics that the great game of hockey provides.

So why are we staging this event?

Sports has the ability to change lives, and we've seen the impact of The Hockey Foundation to date on the communities we've supported and on the individuals involved in our coaching programs.  We want to continue our growth and success to date with an event that will promote long-term development while simultaneously accomplishing something unique!

Building on the success to-date of The Hockey Foundation’s programming, on and off ice development would focus on several issues, including: inclusion, teamwork, accountability, leadership, healthy living, clean energy, sustainability, preventing substance abuse and violence, cultural understanding and tolerance, English language literacy, and support for
people with disabilities.

This event will not only be the highest altitude hockey game in the world, but is also intended to be the most religiously diverse hockey game...and possibly the most religiously diverse single sporting event.

Do you want to play in this historic game?

You can! We're accepting a limited number of players to take part in this truly once-in-a-lifetime hockey game.  We are expecting to host a total of 4-6 teams of 18-20 players a piece.  There will be 1-2 local teams, a Team Hockey Foundation, and an opening for at least one additional team.  Individuals can register to be placed on Team Hockey Foundation or on the team-to-be-named-later (or one of the additional TTBNL).  

It's important to remember that this game will be played at a high altitude.  The air is thin, and altitude sickness can occur.  All players will be expected to be in good physical condition, and must have travel insurance in order to participate.  The itinerary will be set in a way to assist in altitude acclimatization.

In order to play in this tournament you must pre-register via this campaign. There's a limited number of early bird registrations for $600, and then the individual price is $750. Team registration is $6,500, regardless of the number of players in your group. If you have less than 18 players, we will add players to your roster. Trust us when we say this is best for everyone (see: high altitude).  

So how do you graduate from a pre-registrant to a registrant? We need to talk to you first and make sure that you know what to expect before we deem you fit to travel and play at high altitude. If for some reason either you or The Hockey Foundation are concerned about your well-being, we will gladly refund your pre-registration fee (unless you want to consider it a donation!).

Costs included in your registration include a jersey (unless your team has jerseys), a puck, patch & sticker, and more importantly, some local transportation and limited accommodation in Ladakh.  All participants will be expected to cover their international flights, accommodations in Delhi (and anywhere else in India they may visit), and Leh. We will arrange for transport from Leh into the more remote area where the game will be held, as well as the guest houses where all participants of the event will be staying.

If you have more questions about what is and isn't included as a player/team, feel free to contact our team at guinness@hockeyfoundation.org.

Information about rewards

This list will continue to grow as more rewards are added. We're always looking for more great rewards to offer, so if you or someone you know has anything we can add to our campaign, please contact us at guinness@hockeyfoundation.org.

A limited number of early bird specials are available to help get the ball rolling. 

Fundraising/Costs

We are looking to raise $150,000 for this event, which would fund the following components:

Boards & Equipment

• Acquisition of regulation boards (and equipment) in North America to ensure the rink is of proper dimensions 
  • upon conclusion of the event, the boards will be donated to a facility under construction in Leh
  • Gather Hockey Equipment to include in shipment
  • Shipping boards and hockey equipment to India
• Getting the boards & equipment out of customs and up the Himalayas
• Installing the boards in advance of the event
  • includes transportation for construction crew/advisers

Event Staff

• Our team has years of experience and expertise that positions us perfectly to run this event.  Ensuring that we have proper staffing is critical, and includes:
  • Coaches
  • Referees
  • Game Officials (off-ice)
  • Guinness World Record officiant ($10,000)
  • Management staff
  • Construction staff
    • Comprised of THF & locals
  • Ice staff

Uniforms & Rewards

• Staff/Players uniforms (i.e. track suits and/or jerseys)
• Pucks, Stickers, Patches (we'll be working on getting these donated)

Donations (some mentioned above) we'll be making:

• Rink Boards 
• Hockey Equipment (500+ pieces)
• Hockey Pucks
• Books for Schools