Hockey Canada has identified some challenges that are preventing it from reaching its goal of having more than 170,000 girls and women playing hockey in Canada by 2030.
That’s a significant increase from the total of 100,000 girls and women who registered with Hockey Canada this season to play in organized programs.
However, a discussion paper released Tuesday lists some of the barriers, identified through a survey by Hockey Canada, its members and Canadian Women and Sport, that affect its development and the potential of women’s hockey in the country.
The discussion paper identifies six areas of significant deficiencies that are hampering the growth and potential of women’s hockey: structure, equitable allocation of resources, policy and governance, training, data, and visibility and celebration.
“We hope that the day will come when every girl who wants to can play hockey because gender barriers will be removed, but we know that there is still much work to be done to ensure the future of women’s hockey,” read the discussion paper, “Building the Future of Women’s Hockey.”
“To get there, we need to ensure that the Canadian hockey system is ready to support this unprecedented growth. As it stands, that’s not the case. But that doesn’t mean the situation is set in stone,” they added.
As of the 2023-24 hockey season, there are 108,313 players registered in Hockey Canada’s various organized programs, representing 19.9% of all participants — the highest proportion in Canadian hockey history.
However, the data shows that compared to boys and men, girls and women play hockey for shorter periods of time. In addition, women’s hockey has a lower retention rate from one season to the next than men’s hockey.
On average, girls and women play hockey for 7.24 years, 2.4 years less than boys and men. In 2023-24, the retention rate for women’s hockey was 84.9%, 2.9% less than that of men’s hockey.
In May, Hockey Canada announced the establishment of a committee, chaired by former national team player Gillian Apps, “to oversee a discussion paper that will lead to formal recommendations to guide the organization’s next strategic plan for women’s hockey.”
The 15-person committee includes former players Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Kim St-Pierre, Jayna Hefford, Angela James and Therese Brisson, Hockey Canada president and chief operating officer Katherine Henderson, U-Sports president of operations Pierre Arsenault, NHL vice-president Rob Knesaurek, Bauer Hockey vice-president Mary-Kay Messier and Own the Podium president of operations Anne Merklinger, among others.
Apps is a member of the Hockey Canada board of directors.
Over the coming months, IMI International will launch a formal quantitative and qualitative research process, surveying athletes, coaches, referees, administrators, volunteers, fans, and other Canadians on these and other questions.
The committee will use the data collected to formulate official recommendations, which are expected to be made public “in spring 2025.”
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