Williams Lake Stampede tug of war supports childhood cancer research

Cops for Cancer Tour de North arriving Sept. 17 in Williams Lake

Williams Lake Stampede tug of war supports childhood cancer research Published 4:01 pm Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Williams Lake RCMP Const. Chad Fofonoff hopes to ride more than 1,000 kilometres before September as he prepares to cycle for seven days supporting children and families living with cancer. Fofonoff is among the emergency services personnel participating in this year’s Cops for Cancer Tour De North that will begin in Dawson Creek on Sept. 11 and conclude in Williams Lake on Sept. 17.

“I’ve always wanted to do it, and I know there’s a little boy in town that’s friends with my daughter, on the same hockey team, and he’s dealing with cancer right now, so I thought it would be a good idea to do it this year,” Fofonoff said. Fofonoff has personally had many family members affected by cancer and over the years has been actively involved in Run for the Cure, a nationwide breast cancer fundraiser. On Tuesday, July 14, Fofonoff was joined with Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt.

Brad McKinnon as he accepted a $1,500 cheque from Williams Lake Stampede Association (WLSA) president Court Smith. The funds will go directly towards Cops for Cancer Tour de North supporting the Canadian Cancer Society with pediatric cancer research and sending kids to Camp Goodtimes that offers kids with cancer an extraordinary camp experience. They result from an annual Tug of War at the 98th Williams Lake Stampede that pitted members of the Williams Lake RCMP against the Williams Lake Fire Department and was judged by childhood leukaemia survivor Duncan Eckert, noted Fofonoff.

Coming out on top of the crowd-pleasing event was the RCMP that was awarded $1,000 by the WLSA with the Williams Lake Fire Department giving their $500 winnings to support the cause. “The Williams Lake Stampede is happy and proud of our contribution to the cancer cause, and we’ll try to do it every year,” Smith said. McKinnon said the Williams Lake RCMP is grateful to the WLSA for the donation and is appreciative of Fofonoff and his efforts.

“It’s a huge undertaking of people not realizing how difficult that terrain is that they do and it’s such an important cause,” McKinnon added of Cops for Cancer Tour De North. “So we’re happy to support him and in every way we can with this.” To further support Const.

Chad Fofonoff in Cops for Cancer Tour de North select Team Foff under the Canadian Cancer Society’s Tour de North 2026 webpage. Also participating in Cops for Cancer Tour de North 2026 that will cycle over 800 kilometres from Dawson Creek to Williams Lake is 150 Mile House volunteer firefighter Sharleen Best.