Girls Hockeyfest returned to Winnipeg on Sunday hosted by Scotiabank, giving young girls and women between the ages of seven to sixteen a chance to learn from some of the top hockey players in the country.
The event provides equipment to all participants such as skates, helmets, gloves, and sticks.
Since its inception in 2006, the program has guided over 17,000 young women and helped over 113,000 young hockey players across the country to lace up and confidently get on the ice.
The event’s on-ice sessions were led by Canadian hockey legend Cassie Campbell-Pascall and she says the program gives young female players a chance to have hockey in the future.
“I think with the Professional Women’s Hockey League has done, is made the sport more visible,” she said. “I think we’ve always had a dream that this was possible, and I think it’s exceeded our expectations. And we just got to continue to keep the momentum and keep growing and making it better and better every year.”
Nine-year-old Kaydence Uwbank says she has been playing the sport for three years and she dreams of playing professional women’s hockey and ten-year-old Emma Peters, who has been playing for six years, shares the same goal.
However, some girls in attendance had never hit the ice before but learned to love it by the end of the event.
“By the end of it, she had a huge smile on her face and, could skate and I think, you know, that’s someone that you hope continues to play and give back to, you know, when she grows up and loves the game,” said Campbell-Pascall.