ST. LINA – The 2025 Cabin Cup Invitational held in St. Lina on Aug. 9 and 10 raised $46,000 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in Edmonton.
The beach volleyball tournament was first held as a graduation celebration in 2017, but has grown bigger and bigger ever since. In 2020, the tournament truly started as a dedicated annual fundraiser for the children's hospital, according to Tyler Jodoin.
“We started it because a lot of our family has been through Stollery and we recognize it as pretty good cause to support,” he said.
As of 2025, the fundraiser has raised over $120,000 for the hospital.
Brett Seguin, one of the organizers and also Jodoin's cousin, agreed. “I, myself, got airlifted when I was a couple weeks old to Stollery,” he explained.
Shortly after Seguin was born in 1998, he was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There was also a hole in his heart. But he recovered and is now living a healthy life.
He says his younger sister also went to Stollery for some heart procedures.
“And we have a little nephew who had an open-heart surgery there . . . now he's running around here somewhere today,” said Seguin, while also expressing gratitude for the support of everyone who donated this year and in previous years.
He believes many people “relate” to the hospital, gesturing to the four volleyball courts where players were competing.
Jodoin affirmed, noting there were 16 teams who participated in the two-day tournament, and the tournament had to build two more courts due to the interest.
“It was just getting bigger and bigger,” he says, with some teams coming from throughout the province, including Edmonton and Calgary.
Among them is Carter McFeely from Edmonton. “It's a great weekend full of fun. It's also for a great cause, so there's no hesitation to wanting to come out,” said McFeely.
He says everyone, to some degree, has a connection to the children's hospital, may it be through their family or friends. “That's kind of cliche and it's said a lot, but it's true.”
He added, “I credit the people that put this on and their generosity with their time and resources. This doesn't happen overnight.”
Speaking of the cause, Jodoin says money from the fundraiser has helped the Stollery with initiatives like creating the new play zone at the hospital's beach area.
“It's kind of cool to see where the money is going,” he said.
This year, Jodoin said that according to Stollery, money raised will help with the hospital's goal of raising money for Stollery's telehealth initiative.
“So, people who live in rural communities like us don't have to drive all the way to the city to see a doctor,” and instead, may connect to the hospital virtually, he said. “They're investing in more technologies like that to connect rural communities with young, sick kids.”
According to the Stollery Children Hospital Foundation's website, the foundation is raising $3 million over five years to create the Stollery Centre for Excellence in Virtual Health, “To enhance and expand innovative, pediatric virtual health solutions across northern Alberta and beyond.”
Jodoin and Seguin thanked everyone who supported the tournament, including all volunteers and sponsors.
People can still donate to the fundraiser online by visiting: stolleryci.crowdchange.ca
The fundraiser is live until the end of August.
