Hockey: Cardi Cup founder Tarantino gives back with 'For the Shore' Tournament

Chris Rotolo | Asbury Park Press

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When he was 16-years old, financial hardships struck his family, and local hockey standout JT Tarantino was left without the resources to pay for and compete at the junior hockey level.

He received a leg up from the New Jersey Jr. Titans back then, when the local club allowed the Wall Township native to rent out their facilities in Howell at discounted prices for Tarantino’s own Cardi Cup Tournament.

The tournament allowed friends and other local skaters to compete in a three-on-three format, while the nominal individual fees collected helped Tarantino pay for his junior hockey tuition.

Four years later and now a student and skater at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Tarantino is taking his Cardi Cup Tournaments to the next level, and through these events will look to aid other local skaters facing similar circumstances to his own.

“My goal is to be able to ease the financial burden that ice hockey tuition puts on players and their families,” said Tarantino, who began skating with the Titans organization at 11-year old, and was able to remain with the program through the 2015-16 campaign.

“The ice hockey community in Monmouth and Ocean County is a tight knit group who are very supportive of each other,” Tarantino said. “And I want younger players to have the same opportunity as I did to create lifelong memories and friendships without financial restrictions.”

The inaugural Cardi Cup Tournament was held in June of 2014, and Tarantino has scheduled the 16th event – the “For the Shore” Hockey Tournament presented by Cardi Cup Hockey Tournaments – for July 7-9 at Middletown Ice World.

“These tournaments were once a way to help me compete at the next level, and now I’m thankful I can use them to give back,” said Tarantino, a rising junior at St. Joseph’s who is studying finance and marketing. “The time has come to reciprocate the support that I received. I want to give back to ice hockey players in Monmouth and Ocean County facing similar financial situations I did.”

The forthcoming “For the Shore” Tournament will see 50% of its proceeds go to directly to a Jr. Titans player in the organization’s youth program.

“For the first Tournament I wanted to support a player and the program that supported me so many years ago,” Tarantino said. “And we will be giving the money to a youth player in the program as a scholarship.”

Though his immediate attention is on the local skater, Tarantino’s ties to Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania have grown immensely since earning his place with St. Joseph’s University, and the local skater hopes to soon extend the reach of his philanthropy to those areas in the near future.

“I am in the process of getting my LLC and hope to launch a series of tournaments next summer in both New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. And this “For the Shore” Tournament is a huge stepping stone toward being able to ease the financial burden of ice hockey tuition for numerous other players and their families at the Jersey Shore and its surrounding communities.”

Find the format and more information for the “For the Shore” Tournament below.

Format/Details of the Tournament

Two 20 minute periods

5 vs 5

No checking

2 divisions:

High school (1999 birth year and younger) College (1994 birth year and younger)