California Ice Hockey | Spring 2018 Campaign

Cal Ice Hockey's thanks you for your unrivaled support! We have already reached our initial goal of $3,500 and we're implementing a new stretch goal of $7,500! Your money will go towards adding more games in our schedule, expanding our financial aid program for our players, and various upgrades to improve your experience as fans, such as a larger school store and more reliable livestream equipment!

As a student-run organization, California Ice Hockey strives to embody the values of UC Berkeley on and off the ice. As a team, we have improved our record from 4-11 to 17-2 over the past four seasons, earning second place in the league tournament this past year; furthermore, we have gotten involved with programs like Try Hockey for Free, a national effort to introduce kids from underprivileged communities to hockey. Going forward, we hope to further develop our team’s competitive strength, while leading various other youth outreach programs with the East Bay communities. Will you help us by making a gift today?

As a growing hockey program consisting of 20 players in the Bay Area, we require a large budget to fund our road trips and pay for ice time at one of the only rinks in the area. Each year, we use around $80,000 (detailed below), and this past year we were forced to hold a last-minute donation drive in order to help raise enough money for our season. Nevertheless, we had to retroactively increase our dues and cut practices just so we could play the minimum amount of games to be a member of the league. For the upcoming season, we are looking to avoid this issue and hope to fundraise enough money to improve our team as a whole and allow for promising student hockey players who have the talent to play, but lack the funds, to compete. Moreover, additional funds will also allow us to launch various initiatives within the community, as discussed further on.

In spite of our 17-2 regular season record this past year, we finished 18th in the Western region of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and we lost in the Finals of the PAC-8 league tournament. Because of our low regional standing, despite our won-loss record, our inability to win the PAC-8 tournament meant that our season was over at that point. If we had been able to face more top-tier teams throughout the season, we would have been better prepared for the championship tournament or earned a high enough regional standing to earn an invitation to the ACHA’s Western Region tournament. With the funds we raise, we hope to grow as a program; we intend to schedule additional practices in better time slots (currently we practice after midnight for the lower cost ice time), play higher-ranked teams, and raise our skill level, so that we can improve our level of play, earn top ten in the region, and qualify for regionals.

Most importantly, with more funds, we'll be able to impact the community in more substantive ways. This past year, we participated in our first Try Hockey for Free Event at Oakland Ice and are looking to expand our community involvement efforts. With more money, we'll have the resources to participate in more of these events and sponsor our own programs to inspire kids to play hockey at a young age, and bring hockey to disadvantaged communities in Oakland and Berkeley. Your donation will go a long way to help both the team and the community. Please make a gift today!