This year our annual Christmas Teddy Bear Toss game will be held on the 3rd December! Fans across the town will be purchasing teddies, bagging them up and throwing them onto the ice after the Bespoke Guardians Swindon Wildcats score their first goal of the night! But why?!

Teddy Bear Toss has become an annual tradition in the hockey community and it’s for a very good cause! Every year our chosen children’s charity will receive hundreds of teddies to give to the children that need them the most.

For 2022, we’re delighted to be supporting two amazing charities.

Who is it for? 

Firstly, Barnardo’s who is one of the leading children’s charities in the UK. Every year, they provide ongoing support for over 380,000 children, young people, parents and carers, through their services and partnerships. Their strategy focuses on achieving better outcomes for more children by working to build Stronger Families, Safer Childhoods and Positive Futures.

Believe in children | Children’s charity | Barnardo’s (barnardos.org.uk)

Secondly, we have Foster with Swindon. Foster With Swindon is the drive from Swindon Borough Council to recruit more foster carers to look after children within Swindon. Foster carers change the lives of young people who are often in need of a caring family at a critical point in their lives. Often, support and guidance at the right time will set a child on a positive path through their life and open them up to experiences they never would have had otherwise.

Foster with Swindon | Swindon Borough Council

How does it work?

Buy a new teddy bear or two (no taller than 12 inches preferably) which MUST include a CE label (which ensures that the manufacturer has checked that these products meet EU safety, health or environmental requirements).

Place it in a clear plastic bag (for protection from the surface of the ice) and tie the top closed.

Bring it to the game against the Hull Seahawks on Saturday 3rd December.

Wait for the first Wildcats goal of the game to be scored, then throw your teddy on to the ice rink as soon as the goal goes in!

Whether you’re Rink-side or in the balcony, MAKE THE FUR FLY! If the Wildcats fail to score during the 60-minutes, fans will toss the teddy bears anyway – straight after the final buzzer.