The tournament, featuring 10 teams of current and retired Mounties and friends, along with a squad from CFB Gander, opens this morning at the Steele Community Centre and winds up Saturday evening.
It was started 50 years ago to honour Const. Terry Hoey and Const. Robert Amey.
Hoey, from the Peterborough, Ont. area, was shot and killed while investigating a domestic dispute on Nov. 6, 1958 in Botwood.
He was three weeks removed from training, and just prior to receiving the call to respond to the domestic dispute, was in the process of tying a letter to a friend noting that Botwood was a quiet town.
Amey, from Cape Breton, N.S., was murdered on Dec. 17, 1964 in Whitbourne while trying to arrest four escapees from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s.
Amey and his partner, Const. David Keith, were in the process of recapturing the four when Amey radioed for help. The fugitives rushed Keith, and grabbed his service revolver. Amey drew his weapon, but one of the fugitives fired three shots.
Afterwards, Keith used Amey's gun to arrest all four men.
Started in 1967, the hockey tournament was hosted by the various RCMP detachments across the province, but it was decided a number of years ago to stage the event in Gander every year.
This weekend, the nieces of Const. Hoey and Const. Amey have been flown in and will be on hand in Gander for the event.
