Hockey is a Canadian Tradition for Girls Too #WeAllPlay

Photo attribution – Shannon Leverette, Shannon’s View From Here

Saying that hockey is ingrained in Canadian culture, although true, would be a gross understatement. It dominates and permeates our collective psyches more than any other single event.

Like many of you, we have a son who played competitive hockey for years. As parents, we went through all the trials that go along with that. Road trips, tournaments, bad driving conditions, 6 AM practices, and the list goes on. But, I have to say that the good experiences outweighed the bad, most importantly, for him.

When our daughter, who is four years younger, announced that she wanted to take up the game, I have to admit, it was met with a less than enthusiastic response. To be honest, I don’t know if it was flashbacks to too many weekends in cold arenas drinking bad coffee, or if my husband and I were just from an age, an “ice age” I believe, where girls ”just didn’t play hockey”!

Thankfully, we came to our senses and realized, wait a minute, why on earth shouldn’t she play hockey? And play she did. Going to the rink, road trips, bad driving conditions, and terrible coffee once again became an integral part of our winter lives.

Our daughter ended up playing hockey for many years and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking back we have great memories of that time and are so grateful we came to our senses and allowed her to have this experience and the many learning opportunities that go with it.

Other than the obvious health benefits of getting physical activity and just as importantly, she learned life skills that carry on well past her hockey playing years.

Working as a team towards a common goal
Sportsmanship
Communication and listening skills
Respect for authority and rules
Self-confidence
Patience
Self-esteem

I now look at her generation as really the first to push conventional thinking and move the woman’s game forward to the point where it became an Olympic sport.

Out of this generation came women like Hayley Wickenheiser and Meaghan Mikkelson, who not only went on to fabulous careers in the sport but more importantly, became the role models for a whole new generation of players.

Young girls today have equal access, and can play the game for its recreational attributes or aspire to play at a competitive level. A few will even go on to represent their country at the Olympics, and it’s all because of the hard work and dedication of the role models from the pioneering generation that these opportunities now exist.

Today, in Canada alone, there are well over one hundred thousand girls and women playing organized hockey. Hockey is now a Canadian Tradition for Girls Too and this is a true testament to the legacy of women like Wickenheiser and Mikkelson.

TWITTER PARTY

We hope you will join us for the #WeAllPlay Twitter Party with Olympians Hayley Wickenheiser and Meaghan Mikkelson.

Date – November 25th, 2015

Time – 8:00 p.m. EST

Hashtag – #WeAllPlay

Host – @CanadianTire

Guests: @Wick_22 and @Mikkelson12

NO RSVP REQUIRED

Prizing: 10 x $100 @CanadianTire Gift Cards

Please Note – Anyone can participate in the chat, but only Canadians can win prizes, excluding those in the province of Quebec.

Be sure to check out The Canadian Tire Wickenheiser World Female Hockey Festival – The Wickenheiser World Female Hockey festival is a spectacular event! This is an annual hockey festival set up by Hayley. It draws teams from across Canada for seminars, workshops, and a friendly tournament. This year, it takes place in Calgary Nov. 26-29, 2015. The festival is sold out for 2015 with 2,000 female players from 8-18 years old.