The Smiths Falls U13B Cubs girls’ hockey team reached the semi-final round of the 44th Annual Nepean “Paint It Purple” Tournament in Nepean (Ottawa), Ontario, on February 1, 2026. Representing the Smiths Falls Girls Hockey Association (SFGHA), the squad advanced through round-robin and quarter-final play to secure a top-four finish in the U13B division.
Beyond their success on the ice, the players took part in the tournament’s Do It For Daron (DIFD) tribute to youth mental health. The event, hosted by the Nepean Girls Hockey Association (NGHA), is held in partnership with DIFD — a youth mental-health initiative that works with The Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health to encourage young people to talk openly about mental illness and to ask for help when needed.
Throughout the weekend, the Cubs joined hundreds of other athletes in wearing purple tape, purple heart stickers and purple hearts on their equipment — the signature symbols of the DIFD movement, created in memory of Daron Richardson — to help reduce stigma around youth mental-health struggles.
The 44th Annual “Paint It Purple” tournament is one of the largest girls’ house-league tournaments in Ontario; the NGHA reported 209 teams across the two tournament weekends in 2026. For the Smiths Falls squad, the weekend combined high-level competition with community-building and life-skill development promoted by the NGHA.
