Games stretching into overtime have long been a part of hockey, but never for a period of time as long as organizers behind an upcoming game are shooting for.

On August 26, a total of 40 women will take a collective deep breath before hitting the ice at Canlan Ice Sports Burnaby 8 Rinks, their de facto home for the next 10 days as they attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for playing the longest hockey game while also raising funds and awareness for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"We've got about 35 women so far," said Longest Game 4 CF spokesperson Vallerie Skelly. "We'd like to get at least 50 signed players, because stuff can happen over the winter. They could get injured playing or get pregnant, who knows what could happen?"

The current record - a whopping 241 hours and 21 minutes - was set nearly three years ago by men playing outdoors at the northern Alberta homestead of the Edmonton Oilers' in-house optometrist, Brent Saik.

The women are hoping to beat them at their own game by precisely 65 minutes. The extra minutes were chosen specifically as an homage to late New Westminster resident Eva Markvoort.

Markvoort drew worldwide attention to cystic fibrosis - a respiratory condition that strikes roughly one in 2,000 people and is the most fatal genetic disease affecting young Canadians - after sharing her personal struggles with it through the award-winning documentary 65_RedRoses and her blog of the same name. (The phrase "65 roses" itself is a common shorthand in the cystic fibrosis community due to a young boy's now-famous mispronunciation of his medical problem.)

"I was already starting to plan the game after a friend of mine had died from cystic fibrosis," said Skelly, who never had a chance to meet the woman whose image adorns Longest Game 4 CF posters. The former Miss New Westminster passed away last March after waiting in vain for a donor for a second double-lung transplant.

"The local cystic fibrosis office, when I was telling them the idea, said they had someone who might be our spokesperson, and that was Eva," she said. "After she passed, we spoke with her family and asked if we could use her image because we knew she really wanted to continue her legacy, that was something that was really important to her, and she had already done all the legwork for us in getting (cystic fibrosis) on people's radar."

Skelly, who currently plays centre for the Thunder A in the local Duffers Hockey League, said the attempt wouldn't be possible without the generosity of Canlan Ice Sports, who will not only be donating one of their six NHL-sized rinks for 10 days straight but even the continuous services of a Zamboni driver.

"I thought at first that it would be really easy to get ice at that time of year because it is between hockey seasons but no, they have camps running through the whole summer," said Skelly with a laugh. "It was a really big deal for them to give us that ice time for that long and someone who can be there 24 hours a day to make sure the ice is always healthy."

While the details are still being ironed out, she said the plan is for players to sleep and cook food in RVs when they're not on the ice. Each team will have 20 per side, and there will be no switching teams.

"You can play any position, though, so goalies can play out if they want, or others can play in. If one person gets injured, then you're down to 19 on that side. You've got to roll with it."

The group will be holding hourly information sessions for interested players, volunteers and potential sponsors on Jan. 19 starting at 6 p.m. at 8 Rinks, located at 6501 Sprott St. Goalies, as always, are particularly needed.

To find out more or to make a donation, go to www.longestgame4cf.com or look them up on Facebook.