A not-for-profit organization, Play On! Canada operates the largest annual experiential sports festival in Canada and the largest participatory community hockey event in the world

In 2022, as a national economic and health recovery initiative, Play On! Canada intends to operate 24 mass participation community street hockey events - involving a target of 100,000 players and 1,000,000 fans (in person and virtual) - followed by a 25th, a televised national championship event that will crown the nation’s greatest street hockey players. The project will involve 51 days of programming coast-to-coast and set a new standard for national mass participation team sports events worldwide.

PAST AND PRESENT PARTNERSHIPS

Hockey teams we’ve worked with

Play On! holds the Guinness World Record for largest street hockey tournament, while also being the largest hockey tournament of any kind. It was the first mover in the initiative to #BringBackPlay and the first user of this hashtag

EXPECTATIONS FOR 2017?
40,000 players + 300,000 engaged supporters
The big leagues of community engagement

We've been featured by:

Play On! was developed in Edmonton, Albert and London, Ontario but the first event was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2003. Play On! Canada was later incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. All partnership contributions to Play On! Canada are used to promote the importance of play by producing and/or supporting events that provide Canadians with positive introductory sport experiences.

In its largest season, Play On! involved 6,070 teams, 42,006 participants, and an estimated 336,000 spectators. The program grew at an average of 30% annually in the years 2008 to 2014. When NHL broadcast rights in Canada moved away from CBC, the Play On! program had to be simplified, and eventually suspended. Now, the program is being expanded again as a national economic and health recovery event.

Play On! holds the Guinness Record for World’s Largest Street Hockey Tournament. It is also Canada’s Largest Sports Festival of any kind. In 2012 it received worldwide recognition for Best In Class Sports website. It has been featured 9 times on Hockey Day in Canada or Sports Day in Canada, and has received its own dedicated two hour national live network broadcast on CBC.

"There is something pure and sweet about road hockey that is worth preserving for generations to come. The game has meant more to young Canadians than any game in any form.” - Roy McGregor