Katie Robinson Memorial Showcase honors legacy of local hockey player
SAULT STE. MARIE — To honor the memory of her daughter, Nancy Robinson hopes to help build lasting memories and friendships for young hockey players in Sault Ste. Marie.
Katie Robinson started playing hockey when she was 9. She was part of the Lake Superior State University women's team and was planning on playing in the 2021 season, before she tragically died in a car accident at the age of 20.
With help from the Chippewa County Community Foundation, Katie's family created the Katie Robinson Memorial Scholarship and memorial showcase tournament as a way to support local students and hockey players.
Every year, the scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior of Sault Ste. Marie and is designed to help female students and hockey players. So far, two LSSU students have been able to use the scholarship to support their education, and another will be added to the list every year. To date, the scholarship fund has raised around $30,000.
The showcase tournament raises funds for the scholarship and donations for the Diane Peppler Resource Center. The showcase has continued to grow every year. In its first year, only four high school teams participated, but this year 21 teams are signed up, including two college teams.
According to Nancy Robinson, the tournament showcase and other team-based events like it were very important to Katie and helped her build long-time relationships with girls she only met and played with once. Nancy wanted this important part of Katie's life to inspire more young girls to build relationships and enjoy the game.
"She had girls that she had played hockey with in just about every state and all the provinces," said Nancy. "There were even girls in England she kept in contact with that she only played with a single time. It was just amazing to see the camaraderie that could happen in just a single weekend. So we're hoping that these girls are gonna walk away with a really good feeling about themselves and the sport."
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Attendance of the showcase games are open to the public, with an opportunity to donate. There is no price for admission but any donations made at the time of admission will be given to the Diane Peppler Resource Center. The resource center was a program that was very important to Katie, so her family wanted the showcase to help the center as well.
In addition to donations to Katie's favorite charity program, the games will also have a booth for selling sweatshirts and other accessories. The funds from those sales will go towards the scholarship program.
Teams will be playing a number of games at both Pullar Ice Rink and Big Bear Arena over the course of the three-day showcase, starting Friday, Feb. 9.
"Katie loved helping people. Her ambition was to be a social worker, so she could help people both professionally and personally," said Nancy.
The 2024 Katie Robinson Memorial Showcase will take place from Feb. 9-11. Along with hockey games, a pizza party and carnival is set to take place from 6-11 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Norris Center.
For more information, visit saultstemarie.com/event/katie-robinson-memorial-showcase-2.
Donations to the Katie Robinson Memorial Scholarship can be made online at chippewacountycommunityfoundation.org or mailed to CCCF, PO Box 1979, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Katie Robinson Memorial Showcase honors legacy of Sault hockey player
