A year ago, the Cowichan Secondary Thunderbirds girls hockey team didn’t exist.
Now, the team is planning a trip to one of the biggest female hockey festivals in the world.
The T-Birds are making preparations to attend WickFest — an enormous international hockey festival created by none other than Hayley Wickenheiser — this November.
Taking place on back-to-back weekends in November, WickFest attracts 2,500 hockey players between the ages of eight and 18 from around the world at the WinSport arenas in Calgary. This year’s edition will include teams from as far away as China, and past tournaments have included teams from Finland, the Czech Republic and Mexico.
Wickenheiser — the most recognizable female player in the history of the sport and a four-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion — started the event in the aftermath of the 2010 Olympics as a way to grow the sport and encourage development of the girls’ game in Canada. Held in Burnaby for the first four years, it grew from 47 teams initially to more than 160, as well as moving to Calgary.
While the event revolves around hockey, that’s only the tip of the iceberg, according to WickFest’s creator.
“Hockey is the thing I care about the least in this event,” Wickenheiser said. “You can play hockey anywhere, but you can only get access to world-class people and facilities like this here.”
Beyond the games, there are sessions and workshops addressing things like mental toughness, sleep, nutrition and community involvement with figures from around the hockey and sports worlds, ranging from Pittsburgh Penguins director of sport science Andy O’Brien and longtime NHL executive Brian Burke to two-time Olympic trampoline champion Rosie MacLennan and two-time Olympic bobsleigh champ Kaillie Humphries.
“It’s much more than a hockey tournament,” festival director Ceilidh Price said. “We seek to grow the person, not just the player.”
The T-Birds won’t be lost in the shuffle, either. Even though they have just a year of experience together as a team, they will be playing against appropriate competition, Wickenheiser promised.
“We have so many different divisions, they will be slotted according to their abilities,” she explained. “They will be challenged accordingly. There won’t be easy wins, and there won’t be blowout losses.”
The Thunderbirds are believed to be the first team from Vancouver Island to participate in the prestigious event, something that makes assistant captain Madeline Moroz proud.
“It’s always really cool to be the groundbreaker and open up new opportunities for other girls,” she said.
Team captain Jenna Batty acknowledged that it will be a momentous occasion for the upstart squad as the Cowichan Secondary program tries to grow.
“It’s a pretty big thing for a team just starting out,” she said. “Hopefully it will attract more players and encourage girls to join the team.”
Both Batty and Madeline Moroz acknowledged they are big fans of Wickenheiser, making it a bigger honour to play in her eponymous tournament.
“She’s my favourite hockey player,” Batty said. “It will be cool to go and maybe meet her.”
Just getting accepted into the WickFest field is an accomplishment for the T-Birds, said head coach Mike Moroz, who had to go through an extensive application process.
“It’s such a cool tournament, everyone wants to go,” he said. “I think they need teams that are a good fit for what they are trying to accomplish.”
The team is already fundraising for the trip to Calgary in November, but it will all pay off.
“How great an opportunity is it, for girls to see players from all over the planet, playing, and playing at a high level,” the coach said. “We’re a little disappointed we won’t be able to take in any games of the elite teams, but there will be lots of teams there who have lots to teach us.”
As part of their fundraising efforts, T-Birds players will be bagging groceries at the Duncan Superstore for tips this Saturday. The team is always looking for major sponsors, both for the regular season and for WickFest. Anyone interested in helping out should contact Moroz at mmoroz@sd79.bc.ca
For more information about the tournament, visit www.wickfest.com
