The Strathmore Minor Hockey Association will be hosting their inaugural Female Hockey Appreciation Day on January 30 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Event organizer Devin Olson says this free event will have several female hockey players that have played NCAA hockey to help teach any girls interested how to skate and improve in the sport. More importantly, it's a great chance to have fun, meet some other girls who are also interested in the sport, and hopefully grow the sport and get girls involved in hockey.

At the moment, the Strathmore Storm don't offer a full female hockey program outside of their U18 team. While girls do play with the boys frequently on the U7 and U9 teams, Olson explained most girls don't like playing with the boys beyond that age, which results in most of them going to ringette or quitting the sport. Olson hopes to give all girls the opportunity to play by starting a full female program next year.

"We want to get a girls program going in Strathmore so these girls have a place to play and they don't have to drop out. There's more opportunities in hockey later for scholarships and all that kind of stuff; we don't want to see the chance of that taken away from the girls," he said.

Olson pointed out women's hockey is growing worldwide, and hopes Strathmore can follow suit to provide opportunities to anyone who wants to play. 

Outside of the skating portion, there will also be cupcakes at the event once everything is wrapped up. As for future plans, Olson said they plan on hosting a larger event in March to learn more about girls hockey in Strathmore, as well as potentially another similar event to this Female Hockey Appreciation Day in February.

If you're interested in attending, you can RSVP by emailing info@smhockey.com. Even if you don't RSVP you're welcome to attend, although Olson said RSVPs would help with organization.

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girls hockey posterPoster courtesy Strathmore Minor Hockey Association

 

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