Jenny Sullivan, a mom from Labrador City, believes that Labrador hockey teams travelling to the island for an upcoming tournament aren’t being treated fairlyPublished Apr 04, 2025 • 4 minute readJenny Sullivan, a mom from Labrador City, made a Facebook post on the morning of Apr. 4, claiming that Labrador hockey teams travelling to the island for an upcoming tournament weren’t being treated fairly. Photo by Jenny Sullivan /ContributedJenny Sullivan, a mom from Labrador City, says Labrador hockey teams travelling to the island for an upcoming tournament aren’t being treated fairly.“From a Labrador perspective, this is the tournament for these kids. We don’t do the weekend drives and the invitationals every second weekend. This is it for them,” she said.Typically, these tournaments run from Sunday to Wednesday and then Thursday to Saturday.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“This year, for the first time, a travel day was on Thursday,” she explained. “So there’s not meant to be any hockey games, just travel happening on Thursday, and so I think that that’s a change, obviously, from Hockey NL’s communication with PAL.”As a result, the Labrador teams have to travel to the island a day early, racking up further costs with hotels and rental vehicles in addition to the already expensive flights.Fundraising started in OctoberThe kids started fundraising in October. With ticket sales and 50/50 drives, they still need to finish raising the money because they’re short.Expensive flights for travelling to the island is something Labradorians are accustomed to, but Sullivan feels these issues could have been avoided had there been proper communication from the beginning.On top of the early arrival, the Labrador teams are also going to have to fly out early on Sunday. Initially, Sullivan was worried they would then have to miss the final games of the tournament.Article contentFortunately, Hockey NL announced they would be moving up all the games on Sunday to ensure all those coming from Labrador are able to participate. Sullivan emphasized that while she’s grateful they’re doing something, this decision does come with its own set of complications.Moving up the games means condensing everything to a very strict timetable. This is the main tournament of the year for Labrador teams, so there are team-building and fun activities involved in the trip.“There’s a lot that rides on it,” she explained. “It’s the team building, it’s the getting together, it’s getting to dressing rooms and having fun and the whole package.“I know Hockey NL doesn’t need to be worried about us having fun or not. However, because I do believe there was a mistake made in the beginning in terms of communication and scheduling between Hockey NL and PAL, this is where we are.”Hockey NL stated in the release that “since flight schedules and tournament schedules have been made public, Hockey NL has worked with host associations as well as PAL to ensure that all teams, including those travelling from Labrador, will be able to attend all games and will not miss out on medal game opportunities.”Article content‘This was an issue in the beginning’Sullivan expressed that she simply would have preferred to see these issues considered and resolved from the get-go. “We really should be flying Thursday, and we really should be flying Monday,” she said.While she appreciates the work Hockey NL is doing to ensure they get to play all the games, the Labrador teams can’t help but feel like an afterthought.“We have had conversations, several of us as parents, with people as high as the vice president of provincial airlines, and they have said this was an issue in the beginning,” she said. “We voiced that it was an issue, and Hockey NL said, ‘Oh yeah, it is an issue, leave it the way it is, we’ll figure it out,’ and this is where we are now. I understand that there’s a lot of planning, obviously, in moving all these teams around the province, but it feels very much like there was very little consideration — that seems to happen often with these kids travelling for Labrador.” Having grown up in Labrador City herself, travelling eight times a year for team sports when she was younger, Jenny Sullivan knows firsthand what it’s like to be faced with these barriers. Photo by Jenny Sullivan /Contributed‘There are limitations left, right, and centre’Article contentHaving grown up in Labrador City herself, travelling eight times a year for team sports when she was younger, Sullivan knows firsthand what it’s like to be faced with these barriers.“That’s probably why this, as an adult, really resonates with me,” she said. “I basically feel like I’m doing what we were doing as kids all over again with my own kid.”She recalled conversations circulating when she was in high school about how expensive it was to participate in sporting events on the island, and it’s only gotten worse.“The way travelling the province is going from a cost perspective, there are limitations left, right, and centre,” she said. “It’s much cheaper, honestly, to go to Quebec than it is to our own capital. So yeah, this is something that is kind of an age-old story.”Recommended from Editorial https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/sixteen-year-old-volleyball-player-from-makkovik-is-making-his-community-proud Travel subsidy enhancements opens more doors for Labrador athletes, says Makkovik mom Article contentCommunication here is key, Sullivan said. Organizing isn’t easy, but sorting out the kinks as early as possible is always better.“These details, as difficult as it is, need to be ironed out long before seven, eight days before travel,” she said. “There are teams travelling next weekend. I think better communication needs to happen, and then we as an association in Labrador West probably need to have some better transparent communication with HockeyNL right from the beginning of the year, ‘Your travel day will be this, your return travel day will be this.’ “No matter what, these will be what we will be able to offer you because PAL goes to great lengths to express that they are proud supporters of these hockey tournaments, but when it comes to right now, it feels like we’re very much not being supported on either end.”Anasophie Vallée is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Indigenous and rural issues.Article content
‘This is it for them’: Lab City mom says Labrador hockey teams treated like afterthought
