A few hundred people witnessed some hockey history in Surrey on Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 13).
Spectators gathered at Surrey Sport & Leisure Centre in Fleetwood to watch the women of Team India play in a Canadian rink for the very first time.
The exhibition game, against a Surrey Falcons bantam-division squad, was organized by the City of Surrey and officials with the Canadian Tire-sponsored Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival, or WickFest, as a preview of the inaugural tournament in Surrey, to be played from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, 2019.
The tourney is hosted by Canadian hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, a four-time Olympic gold-medalist who has helped stage a similar event in Calgary over the past decade.
Team India is in Surrey for a few days before travelling to Calgary to play in the ninth-annual Wickfest there.
Who’s excited to play their very first hockey game in a Canadian rink, vs @surrey_falcons? Team India, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/qbBuA6Nc93
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) November 13, 2018
• RELATED STORY: India’s national female hockey team coming to Surrey ahead of ‘Wickfest’
With donated gear and on-ice clinics to improve their hockey skills, Wickenheiser and others launched a “India2YYC” initiative to help the team make their way to Canada this week.
In Surrey, local residents Neeru Schippel, Julie Sanghera and Bindy Dulay led a fundraising effort to help the team fly and stay here during a “pit stop,” prior to their arrival in Calgary.
In India, the team of women overcame some strong societal and familial pressures in their ambition to play hockey.
