Hockey Marathon for the Kids is coming back in 2024 to help children dealing with cancer. Once again, forty players will challenge the Guinness World Record for the longest hockey game by hitting the ice April 5 – 16, 2024 at the Chestermere Recreation Centre.

Organizers have had a year’s rest since they last took on this monumental feat in 2022. They previously set the world record in 2012, 2014 and once again in 2022 – raising close to $4 million in total for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. This time, players will have to skate for more than 262 consecutive hours to set a new Guinness World Record. It will be an ultimate battle, all to benefit children and their families in our community.

“This past year has made all of us so much more aware of the fact that to fight viruses and life-threatening diseases, we need the best healthcare resources and the best science,” says Alex Halat, lead event organizer. “We wish kids didn’t get cancer. But they do and they need us. And we think Calgary/Chestermere and the surrounding area is ready to make this the biggest fundraiser yet.”

Despite critical advancements, all children who are diagnosed with cancer will suffer to some degree, and 20% will not survive their disease. Clinical trials and novel therapies are the stepping stones to improving outcomes. Hockey Marathon for the Kids will support the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Experimental and Novel Therapies (PHOENIX) program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital to make new treatments possible for kids in our community and beyond. With a goal to double the number of clinical trials available, the PHOENIX team envisions a future in which every eligible child coming through the doors of the Alberta Children’s Hospital with hard-to-treat cancers and blood disorders is enrolled in a clinical trial or treatment with a novel therapy – offering them hope for a better future.

“We are so grateful to our community and big-hearted people who go to truly extraordinary lengths to help children with cancer. And just like we cheer for these kids and families facing a cancer diagnosis, we will be cheering these incredible Hockey Marathon players every step of the way,” says Saifa Koonar, President & CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

For additional information and updates about the event, visit hockeymarathon.com