Wednesday afternoons at the West Fraser Centre are going to be full of life this fall/winter as girls aged four to 17 practise their deeking, puck handling, cross-ice passing and shooting at the female-only hockey program.
Coach Chris Jensen, whose two daughters played last year, has seen first hand the benefit the program can have.
“Last year we ended up putting together a team to go to the Jingle Belles tournament in Prince George and we had a blast,” he says.
The difference between being the one girl on a mixed team and having an entire squad of your peers can be huge.
“Sometimes you’d have 15 boys in a dressing room and one girl in a broom closet getting dressed and then five minutes before the game she goes in for a short while, and once the game’s over, that’s it,” Jensen says.
“Where if you have all the girls in the room, you see their attitude and it’s just a ball for them.
“My daughter plays on some mixed teams and it’s pretty nerve wracking for a 10-year-old girl to walk into a room with 15 boys and expect to fit in.
“Where these girls have a lot more fun from the time they get into the ring to when they leave. There’s more camaraderie and sense of team.”
Around 25 girls took advantage of the program last year, and Jensen says that already have 36 signed up to play this year.
Those who took part played a few exhibition games, faced off against some boys teams from town and took on travelling teams from Vanderhoof, Prince George and Williams Lake.
While a lot of Atom and Peewee players have committed, the group would like it if more Bantam and Midget girls were to join too,but Jensen admits it is tough to entice them, saying at that age they are teenagers who have lives.
What might help is a relaxing of the rules around who can sign up. Last year, girls were required to be registered for mixed hockey in order to take advantage. Now, they are free to register for the female-only program on its own.
If they get enough interest, Jensen says they will look into adding ice time at West Fraser or the adjacent rink two.
For those who think they might be game, registration is done through the Quesnel and District Minor Hockey Association. For insurance purposes, players must be registered before they take to the ice.
They also need full hockey gear (helmets, neck guards etc.), but Jensen says, “Minor hockey is pretty awesome for people passing stuff on, so if there’s an issue with gear, just let us know.”
Those who might be on the fence are encouraged to come celebrate Hockey Canada’s World Girls’ Hockey Weekend (October 5-7).
Quesnel will be hosting an event on October 6 at West Fraser Centre with a number of games and a skill surge.
A team from Williams Lake is confirmed and Jensen says they are hoping to hear back from teams located in Vanderhoof, 100 Mile House and Mackenzie.
“We want to mix them all together and make it a social event,” he says, “Hopefully the girls will have a good time and it will become an annual event.”
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