Toronto, ON – With a mission to inspire more communities to share their pride in Canada's favourite sport, the Kraft Hockeyville partners including Kraft Canada, CBC, The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) today unveiled an expanded search for the most hockey connected community in Canada. The new cross-country campaign includes five additional finalist community spots and an early-bird prize of $10,000 worth of hockey equipment from Kraft Canada for a local minor hockey association. In addition, Kraft Hockeyville fans can now extend their involvement through a series of virtual trophies, generated by online activities, including uploading stories, photos and completing other community-based tasks on krafthockeyville.ca. There are five virtual trophies to collect in total.
Starting Friday, November 18, 2011, Canadians can nominate their community for Kraft Hockeyville 2012 with stories that showcase their hometown pride and passion for hockey. Communities that enter before December 16 and complete the early-bird entry submission also qualify for the early bird prize.
Designed to ignite and reflect local communities' passion for hockey, Kraft Hockeyville is immensely popular with Canadians. Since 2006, more than 2,000 communities have entered the competition producing more than 22,000 submissions and 30 million votes. In response, the Kraft Hockeyville partners have expanded the number of finalist communities selected to compete for Kraft Hockeyville 2012 from 10 to 15. The Grand Prize is $100,000 in arena upgrades courtesy of Kraft Canada; a 2012/13 NHL® Pre-Season Game played in their local community arena; and a special CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast from their community. Four runner-up communities will receive $25,000 each for arena upgrades from Kraft Canada. The nomination phase closes on January 31, 2012.
To enter Kraft Hockeyville 2012, Canadians must register at krafthockeyville.ca, complete a simple application form to nominate their community, and submit a story that focuses on originality, community spirit and passion for hockey (maximum 4,000 characters). Canadians will also have the opportunity to show their support by sharing photos and videos. The Top 15 communities chosen to compete for the Kraft Hockeyville 2012 title will be revealed on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, March 3, 2012. Canadians then vote for the top five communities on March 4 and 5. The top 5 communities will be announced on March 17, 2012 before a final voting stage on March 18 and 19, and the winner reveal on March 31, 2012.
""CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is proud to begin a new search for Canada's most passionate hockey community with Kraft Hockeyville,"" says Julie Bristow, CBC's executive director of studio and unscripted programming. ""We're excited to watch how communities rally around their entries this year, with more engagement on-line for hockey fans in communities big and small, from coast-to-coast-to-coast.""
""Kraft Hockeyville is a great initiative as it provides Canadian communities across the country with an opportunity to display their passion for the game of hockey,"" said Mike Ouellet, NHLPA Chief of Business Affairs. ""The nomination process will be exciting as communities compete for the Kraft Hockeyville 2012 crown and the chance to see some of their favourite NHL players play in an NHL exhibition game at their local rink.""
Interested communities are encouraged to visit krafthockeyville.ca to find out more information or look for us on Facebook, follow @hockeyville on Twitter, and visit NHL.com and CBCSports.ca for news, updates and photos.
Kraft Canada has supported hockey for over 30 years through sponsorships and grassroots programs. Since its inception, the Kraft Hockeyville partners have provided $1,000,000 in arena upgrade money, equipment and local food bank donations. Supporting brands for Kraft Hockeyville 2012 include Kraft Dinner, Cracker Barrel, Chips Ahoy, Tassimo, Oreo, and Maxwell House.
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The National Hockey League®, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL® consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League's international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other major professional sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM Satellite Radio). Through the NHL Foundation, the League's charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2010 revenue of $49.2 billion. Twelve of the company's iconic brands – Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Tang and Trident – generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually. On Aug. 4, 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to divide and create two independent public companies: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business. The transaction will take at least 12 months to complete, during which time plans regarding the structure, management, governance and other matters will be announced. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. Visit www.kraftfoodscompany.com and www.facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.