The Zattzoo Project’s annual Boxing Day Memorial Cup is returning to Port Alberni.
What started as a family skate turned into a hockey game, which has now turned into an annual, four-team single knockout tournament in memory of the late musician Zakkaree Coss.
This year’s Memorial Cup will take place one day after Boxing Day, on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at the Alberni Valley Multiplex. Games run from 5-10 p.m.
To start the event, the kids play. Two teams of kids, 14 years and under, will duke it out for some prizes and awards.
Once the kids are finished, the adults’ chase for the Zattzoo Cup begins. Four teams will battle it out in a single knockout bracket-style tournament. Allow us to introduce you to the teams:
Team Zattzoo: named after Zakkaree (his nickname) and The Zattzoo Project.
Team Battle: named after the Zattzoo Project’s main annual event, the Youth Battle of the Bands.
Team Shaker: named after the Five Acre Shaker, which was started as a memorial festival for the musically-talented Zakkaree, and has been one of the Zattzoo Project’s biggest supporters over the years.
Team Funtastic: named after the Funtastic Slopitch Tournament, another one of the Zattzoo Project’s biggest supporters over the years, and the current defending champions from 2022.
This event is free to the public. Anyone wanting to take part can sign up through the Zattzoo Project’s Facebook page. Organizers are still looking for players, referees and “faux” coaches for the evening.
All proceeds from the event will go towards next year’s Battle of the Bands, scheduled for June 8, 2024.