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History of the Auld Reid Tournament

Winston Auld	Al Reid

  The Auld Reid was originally known as the Al Reid. The first Al Reid Memorial Oldtimers Hockey Tournament was held in January 1978 as a tribute to friend and team-mate, Al Reid who led the way in bringing Oldtimers Hockey to Niagara Falls in the early '70s.   Oldtimers hockey was just an emerging pastime in Canada.  Al and his team-mates decided to help an outside group of organizers bring Oldtimers Hockey to Niagara Falls, the first for the city and one of the first such tournaments in Ontario. 

  After experiencing great success, Al Reid and friends decided to organize their own tournament. With Reid's untimely passing, the committee organizers continued the tournament in honour of a man who loved and enjoyed the game. Reid looked upon the game as a basis for making friendships and sharing the fun of give and take, on the ice and after the game was over. Each year the tournament has grown in popularity, proving that 'after 35, hockey is fun'

  The tournament has enjoyed great success over the years because of community good that provided a continuous string of strong leaders and volunteers, too many to mention here without leaving someone out.  Winston Auld is one of those original founding leaders and he continues to work hard, paying close attention to all details to ensure that the committee never forgets Al's philosophy. Over the years Auld has become the tournament's ambassador to the City, Arena Staff, Sponsors, Hotels, Hockey Canada, Junior hockey, and many local charities.  In fact Auld's name is synonymous with various tournament contacts throughout the community. Winston has worked, defended, and fought to embed Reid's philosophy in other local hockey organizations.

  In 2017 the Tournament celebrated it's 40th anniversary. A perfect opportunity to recognize the efforts of past volunteers and leaders by introducing the 'Aitchison / Dobbin Volunteer Recognition' Award to encourage a new generation of volunteers and leaders for the next forty years. With the full support of Al Reid's friends and family, the tournament has been rededicated and renamed in recognition of Winston Auld's work and leadership for the first forty years.
       The Al Reid has been renamed  'Auld Reid Oldtimers Hockey Tournament'  
 

August 13, 2023 Aitchison - Dobbin Volunteer Recognition Award Winners Doug Aitchison 2017 Al Dobbin 2017 Winston Auld 2017 _________________________________________________ Ed Chapman 2017 Jim Sparkman 2017 Mike Verbeem 2017 _________________________________________________ Doug Webb 2017 Don Jones 2017 Vance Dane 2018 _________________________________________________ Gary Soliduik 2018 Doug Ness 2018 Al Filer 2019 _________________________________________________ Charlie White 2019 Picture Not Available 2020, 21 2022 NO Awards were presented TBA 2023 _________________________________________________ TBA 2024       _________________________________________________

To all participating teams, our sponsors and volunteers for your
continued support over the past forty+ years.. and counting...