Girls celebrated World Girls’ Hockey Day with a champion of the sport in Red Deer on Sunday.
Carla MacLeod, who helped the Canadian Olympic women’s hockey team win gold medals in 2006 and 2010, was among the instructors at a free Try Hockey Day event for girls age six to 10 at the Collicutt Centre.
“We’re close to 100,000 girls playing hockey in Canada now,” said MacLeod, who grew up in Spruce Grove. “We’re young as far as the history of sports go. I think we’ve made tremendous strides.”
MacLeod, 29, a coach at Mount Royal University, learned to skate when she was two and played organized hockey at four.
“I just always wanted to play. We played in the basement, out in the cul-de-sac. We had a rink in the back.”
Try Hockey Day, hosted by Central Alberta Minor Hockey Association and Hockey Alberta, attracted 30 girls who were introduced to basic hockey skills, sportsmanship and teamwork.
MacLeod was encouraged to see so many girls out on Sunday. Hockey is a good opportunity to play a team sport, hang out with friends, meet new people, and apply for college or university hockey scholarships, she said.
All girls needed to bring to the event were their own skates. Other equipment was provided.
Lee Deary, director for female hockey with Red Deer Minor Hockey, said across Canada fewer boys are playing minor hockey, but more girls have joined the game.
“The days of being in a small town and everybody playing hockey is changing,” Deary said.
Some say it’s due to the cost of playing, from renting ice to buying equipment, but the number of sports options has also multiplied, he said.
“In Red Deer, we’ve got indoor and outdoor soccer and lacrosse. We’ve got ringette. We’ve got gymnastics. We’ve got swimming. We have a ski hill nearby.”
But interest in female hockey is definitely growing in Red Deer, he said.
Red Deer has eight girls teams with a total of about 130 players.
“This will be the first year we have a novice team. It’s fantastic to see,” said Deary about the team to introduce six and seven-year-olds to the sport.
He said Canada’s Olympic hockey program for women has raised awareness and more girls are finding opportunities to play.
Abagael Thiessen, 13, who plays defence on Red Deer AAA Bantam Sutter Fund Chiefs, started playing girls hockey when she was five and wants to be a college hockey player, and hopefully represent Canada at the Olympics. She wished more people knew what the sport has to offer.
“Girls hockey is more about skating and being fast and good passes. In guys hockey, it’s more about being take and receive a hit and more about puck control instead of getting by the defenceman quickly,” said the Grade 8 St. Thomas Aquinas School student.
She said it would be “really cool” if the results of girls games were included in sports broadcasts like the boys.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com