Hard Pass NYC is a hockey social club founded by Jade Bettine. They are a group of like minded individuals “committed to building an accessible, diverse, and social hockey community for all adults with an interest in the game,”. Jade’s enthusiasm for hockey, and the community that surrounds it, is apparent the moment you meet her. We are excited to join forces as their vision aligned perfectly with Beauty Uni’s goal to grow the game, support the hockey community, and do great things. Jade does several fundraising tournaments to support local charities, hosts tournaments to raise money for her organization, and plans several smaller events throughout the year to keep the community together. To encourage all participants, Jade has created a gear exchange program and offers sliding enrollment fees to help ease the burden of expenses.
We attended our first Hard Pass NYC event, “The Dangle, Snipe, Sideshow”, two weekends ago and it was an amazing experience. The name was inspired by Coney Island, and if you arrived early, you could tour the island with other participants. While there’s always an element of competitiveness in any game, it was clear this tournament was about having fun and most importantly raising money for Special Olympics New York. In between games we got to meet and skate with some of the Special Olympic athletes that participate in the New York program. Their smiles captured what the whole weekend was about. Hockey is much more than a game, it’s a sport that bonds people from all walks of life together.
- Emily