All Around Ashburn: Hockey Rivals Host Charity Event for Inova Blood Services

And thanks to the hard work and generosity of two area hockey clubs, INOVA Blood Donor Services will be getting a much-needed new bloodmobile. "Give blood. Play hockey," reads the sign over the rink at the Ashburn Ice House. It's an advertising sign for Inova Blood Donor Services. But Saturday afternoon it could have said, "Play hockey. Give a bloodmobile."

Two area rival hockey clubs and the Ashburn Ice House worked together with Inova Blood Donor Services to create a unique, new annual charity event that would enable Inova to buy a new bloodmobile. Coaches from the Ashburn Xtreme and Reston Raider hockey clubs competed both on and off the ice to raise the money. Off the ice, they challenged one another to raise between $500 and $1,000 to play in the event. On the ice, the teams played to an enthusiastic crowd of families, including many players, who each paid $10 to attend.

Steve Winter, a board member for the event and player for the Raiders, explained that most of the men playing for the event play regularly in the men's league, in pick-up games, or both. Speaking about the men's league in general and the charity event specifically, Winter said, "At this level, the camaraderie is just as important as the competition, but for this thing we're taking it up a notch because bragging rights are at stake."

Winter explained that both clubs have all ages of players; Reston is a larger club that encourages learning at all levels, while Ashburn is a smaller, more competitive club—an opinion that seemed to play itself out as the Xtreme scored three goals in rapid succession at the beginning of the first period.

The goal of the event was to raise $25,000 to allow INOVA to purchase a new bloodmobile. According to Adam Bartholomew a Senior Development Officer at Inova, the event raised $35,000 and allows Inova to start the ordering process-- "We fully expect the bus to on the road by fourth quarter of next year."

With a score of 7 to 1, Xtreme walked away with the hardware and bragging rights this year, but both teams earned the new bloodmobile for Inova.