The Cochrane Esso Fun Day, which aims to foster female hockey development, hits the ice on April 8 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 dry-land session and a parents’ information meeting.
This is the 10th year of the program in town, which is done in partnership with Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada pays for the ice surface, snacks advertising.
“The (Cochrane Minor Hockey) Association partners up with Hockey Canada and Esso to promote females to hockey. Over the years we’ve gathered equipment for those who maybe don’t have all the equipment necessary … and those girls are taken out on the ice for an hour length session and then they do an off ice dry land session,” said Fun Day organizer Deb Novello.
“It’s more just an introduction to the sports and really just a ‘hey come out and try hockey’ type of event. We’re trying to focus on the younger groups to come try hockey because we’re growing at the older age levels. We’re looking at ages four to nine this year just because we only have three returning initiation players so that’s where our push is this year, is on the younger kids.”
Novello said that girls hockey is currently growing in the Town of Cochrane, and this event is important to continue the growth of the sport on the female side.
“Last year, was the first year we had a girls team in every division. Normally in the past we’ve only had three teams from Pee Wee to Midget,” Novello said.
She credited Esso Fun days with helping with the rapid growth Cochrane has seen in female hockey, with double the number of teams and an improved player retention rate.
“We have another day coming up on April 28 and it’s more for the girls already in hockey,” she said.
“Even with the Pee Wee and Bantam teams, we blended our girls together with Airdrie so there was the possibility of having an ‘A’ and ‘B’ team in each division, so we’re looking to do that again, which means the growth is there.”
“Sunday will be very important because without an introduction to the sport, they are less likely to give it a try. Boys are already geared up to play hockey at a young age, but with girls we find that’s a little bit different. Having some older girls out there provides some mentorship and then when you go with somebody that’s already playing hockey, it makes it that much easier to learn from someone who knows what their doing.”
Members of the Cochrane Chaos female junior ‘A’ team will also be in attendance throughout the event and Novello said that having local role models participate gives the younger girls a goal to strive for.
“It’s so important for all age groups. The Chaos have only been in Cochrane for two years now, but it’s so important to have that mentorship piece and it gives these young girls the dream of ‘Oh I can be one of those hockey players and play Junior A’ so I think it gives girls the drive and goals to play junior one day. To have a junior team in our community … it’s huge,” Novello said.
“I know my girls look up to those girls off the Chaos. I think girls don’t realize that they have the same opportunity as boys, and having those girls out (from the Chaos) shows them that there is other opportunities out there and not just local minor hockey.”
Chaos forward Summer Gibbons will be taking part in the event, along with her teammates Shelby Kirkpatrick and Ryann Altwasser. Gibbons said the group of girls is really excited to be part of the experience.
“It’s really exciting … I participated in it last year and it was a blast. Seeing how happy those girls were to be skating for them to be looking up to us as role models was pretty cool,” Gibbons said.
“To be doing it again this year with my teammates Shelby and Ryann, it should be a lot of fun once again. It’s going to be a big goal of mine to try and get more girls to try hockey. I’ve learned so much over the past 14 years from the sport and have made many amazing friends. I’ll be joining and participating in whatever I can to spread to word about young girls trying hockey and making it just as big in this town and country as boys hockey.”
