Calling all hockey girls. The Cochrane Minor Hockey Association (CHMA) is hosting their 11th annual Girls Hockey Day on April 6 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The event is free for those families interested in putting their daughter into the sport of hockey and will include an on-ice session with experienced coaches and female players, a fun dryland session and a parents’ information meeting.
"We've got two sessions for brand new, never played, never tried hockey before and that's for girls nine and under so girls ages five to nine. During those two ice sessions, we'll have qualified coaches and female mentors from the older divisions on the ice to help them out," said organizer Lorne Bremner. "If girls require it, I do have gear for them to use so they don't have to go out and buy it and that also includes skates for those who don't own their own pair of skates."
"After those two sessions, we're going to do a little off ice session because part of our program during the year is we fundraise to fund the teams dryland sessions, so we're going to give them an example of that. They're going to take part in fitness drumming, so they'll come off the ice, have a little snack and then partake in the drumming session. There will also be an information session for the parents just to find out what the sport is all about. That part of the day is sponsored by Esso Fun Day and all those girls get a free jersey to take home with them."
Bremner said it's crucial for girls to have their own event to take part in.
"The programs for the boys are co-ed so I guess the girls can join those if they want but there aren't any events where they can come try it out. Most boys are going to play hockey because they're wired to it because their dad played or a brother played, where girls, generally speaking, don't have that influence from home," Bremner said.
"For them, it's a good chance to come and try it without having to put a cost in because it's all free. There are going to be girls on the ice that know what they're doing so if a girl is a little unsure they can sit and see that 'holy cow girls can do this too.' They might have been curious but don't know anyone who plays so it gives them a good opportunity to try it out."
With this being the 11th installment of the event, Bremner said the number of entries have grown over the years which makes this event bigger and better.
"Last year was awesome. Last year was our biggest year ever and we filled up ... we were over 30 girls in the come and try sessions and we did two of them," Bremner said. "This year, we'll get close to that number ... I'm not sure if we'll beat it but we will certainly get close. Our sign up is really hitting high gear this week so we'll be close to that. I'm expecting that we'll be at least 80 per cent full this year."
Bremner who also coaches an Atom girls team of his own, said there will be a large spurt of growth in female hockey due in part to events such as the Yelnats Cup Tournament adding a female division and the Cochrane Chaos making back-to-back finals in the Alberta Female Junior Hockey League.
"I think, yes, it will (help grow the game), the Chaos has been a slow growth but that's because their games are normally later in the evening ... but we are seeing more girls come out to watch. I think providing them mentors who have actually played the game to be on the ice with these girls to show them where they can potentially take this is a huge benefit," Bremner said.
"Both of the girls that came out for my team play high-end hockey. My daughter plays Bantam AA while the other mentor we had come out plays Midget AAA in Calgary so they're high end players and it's huge when the girls can see that happen. So, yes, I think the Chaos have a huge impact, just the fact they put a female division in the Yelnats is huge because it's in our older age groups where we're kind of hurting for registrations. Our younger age groups are killing it right now so we have great numbers for the younger girls."
To go along with the Esso Fun Day, there will also be two skill sessions for returning players and any other girls who have on ice experience in ringette, figure skating, etc. There will also be a session for goalies as well as dryland training all free of charge.
Those interested can visit bit.ly/CochraneGirlsHockey for more information.
