The 44th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl is tomorrow in Dartmouth's Memorial Stadium and benefits hospitalized children and burn victims.
In its 43 years, the charity football game has raised nearly $4 million for the Boston Burns Institute and Shriners' Hospitals in Springfield, Mass. and Montreal, Canada, according to a press release from the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, Inc.
The football game will feature teams of 1997 high school graduates representing New Hampshire and Vermont, the release states.
The New Hampshire team will be coached by Bob Camirand of Concord High School.
Jim McLaughlin of Woodstock Union High School will coach the Vermont team.
The players are nominated by their high school head coach and selected for the team by a screening committee of eight coaches, according to the press release.
No more than two players can be selected from the same New Hampshire school except for the two at-large spots, the release states.
No more than three players are to be selected from each Vermont high school, not including the six wild card spots on the team. Even with the wild card selections, there should be no more than seven players from any one Vermont high school, according to the release.
The coaches, officials and Shriners all donate their time and services for the game, the release states.
Tickets to the game will be $6 in advance, $7 on game day and $10 for reserved seats. Ticket information is available at the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, Inc.
There are 19 Shriners' orthopedic hospitals for children and three Shrine Burns Institutes across North America that provide free medical care for children under 18, according to the release. More than a half million children have been treated in the 75 years since the first Shriners' Hospital opened.
The Shriners' international fraternity was founded in 1872. According to the press release, more than 600,000 men are affiliated with the 191 Shrine chapters throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada and Panama.
