Hockey ref braves freezing Calgary weather during 19-hour outdoor skate for Alzheimer's
While most Calgarians cranked the heat and stayed indoors to avoid the city's recent cold snap, one man was strapping on his skates and bundling up for an annual tradition.
Steve McNeil, a hockey referee from Ontario, took to the ice at Olympic Plaza Friday night as temperatures dipped well past –20 C.
"It's fun. I go on the ice, it's like I have an alter ego," McNeil said.
It's the eighth year in a row McNeil has embarked on the skates, which last 19 hours and 26 minutes. That time is a nod to the year his mother was born — 1926.
McNeil's mother died of Alzheimer's disease eight and a half years ago. He started the charity skates in an effort to honour her legacy.
"Everybody knows somebody who has this disease or who is battling this disease," McNeil said. "Everywhere I go across the country, there are lots of communities that really need help."
Calgary's frigid temperatures didn't bother McNeil, who said that the "balmy temperatures just made [him] want to do it even more."
Wearing two pairs of thermal underwear, his girdle from refereeing, two winter coats and a hoodie, McNeil took to the ice at 5 p.m. on Friday and didn't stop until noon on Saturday.
But just in case he needed more inspiration, McNeil cranked AC/DC — the only music he plays during his skates — and even received a visit from a special guest.
McNeil is travelling to 12 Canadian cities as part of this year's tour. He'll do it all again in Edmonton on Monday.
