More than 100 young hockey players got the chance to see and be inspired by an Olympian and one of the sport’s more iconic trophies.
130 female athletes are attending the Sami Jo Small girls hockey school this week, which has been running since 1998.
Small is a Winnipeg-born three-time Olympian in women’s hockey, having served as Team Canada’s goalie.
This annual camp features Small herself, along with other accomplished instructors, who teach athletes ages 7 to 17 on- and off-ice skills.
“For me, being here in the city where I grew up, there wasn’t these opportunities,” Small said. “So to now be able to provide that for these young athletes but more than that, for them to get to meet my cast of instructors and all of the amazing women that have played hockey at the highest level, it’s just really special.”
This year, Manitoba-born members of the Toronto Six, a professional women’s hockey team, came to the camp, bringing their league-winning trophy, the Isobel Cup.
For Six defender Alexis Woloschuk, it was a full circle moment as she attended this camp as a kid.
“Now there’s so many young girls in the sport and it’s really incredible because when we were younger, we didn’t have that,” Woloschuk said. “I think a lot of us played with the boys at that age. I think Sami Jo Small’s camp was the first all-girls camp I ever went to.”
The young athletes were all smiles when posing for pictures with the Isobel Cup.
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