The Chilton Regional Arena in Port McNeill was taken over by female minor hockey on Saturday, Oct. 7, with the Tri-Port Midget Wild hockey team hosting a “Skateathon” in celebration of World Girls Hockey Weekend.
“We planned this event specifically to celebrate World Girls Hockey Weekend, which is an official event all over the world, it’s huge here in Canada, and this is our first year celebrating it,” said Female Minor Hockey Coordinator Lisa Brown.
When asked how female minor hockey numbers are looking at the start of the 2017-2018 season, Brown said she has “24 girls in the Intro Girls program this year, and we’re very proud of that fact — we are seeing such a continued increase in participation on the North island with girls playing hockey, and it’s really exciting. The bulk of those 24 girls are all new to the sport.”
Brown added she feels the reason that the Tri-Port’s female minor hockey numbers have consistantly gone up over the last two years is mainly due to the “free Esso Fun Day we hold in July — the intent with that program is to give girls the opportunity to try out hockey and see if they like it, and the majority of the girls who have come out for the Esso Fun Day are now registered with the Tri-Port Minor Hockey Association this year.”
With the Intro Girls program thriving here in the Tri-Port, Brown has started rostering “novice and atom female teams this year, with the players coming from our intro program.”
She added the two teams have already started playing games “every second week in Port Hardy on Monday nights, and it’s a great opportunity for them to play structured female hockey. We’re also looking to set up some games for them against Campbell River’s female minor hockey program.”
If there are any more girls on the North Island who are interested in playing minor hockey this year that haven’t registered yet, please contact Brown at 250-956-2224 for more information.
