Listen to this article
Approximately 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created using artificial intelligence technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually analyze and improve results.
Registration of women players, coaches and officials has increased, but the organization says it still represents less than 20 percent of its programs.
“We don't want to just settle for 'our sport is growing and we're going to keep it that way,'” said three-time Olympian forward Jillian Apps, who chaired a subcommittee seeking to strengthen and guide growth for women and girls.
“If we're going to do something big, if we want to be as ambitious as we think we are, where can we push it?”
Women's hockey registrations in Canada have increased year over year to 115,000 last season. Hockey Canada's goal is 170,000 by 2030.
“If we didn't do anything, we wouldn't be able to handle the growth,” Hockey Canada chairman Jonathan Goldbloom said Saturday.
Apps, Goldbloom and Hockey Women and Girls Canada Vice-President Marin Hickox presented 14 recommendations at Rogers Place before Canada's women faced the United States in the fourth and final game of the Rivalry Series.
The recommendations included every provincial and territorial association with a full-time staff member dedicated to women's and women's hockey. About half of them are doing this right now.
“We're hoping that we can get that to 100 percent over the next three years to make sure that there's someone … taking all the calls, that they don't have to be a clinician during the day and then be a volunteer administrator at night,” Hickox said.
More equitable access to ice and infrastructure, as well as helping girls and women start playing hockey regardless of age or ability, were also included in the project called “Rise as One.” On Saturday night, Canadian players wore decals with the slogan on their helmets.
Apps, who works in management consulting in Toronto, says she made it clear from the beginning that she was interested in leading the committee if Hockey Canada was serious about making changes.
“There are a lot of people on the steering committee who, when they were asked to get involved, said, ‘Is this true? I don’t want to spend all this time on something that’s just going to be checked off and put on a shelf and nothing comes of it,” Apps said.
“I find that women's and girls' performance sometimes takes a backseat to many conversations.
“Hockey Canada has made a commitment to say, 'This is something we think can help improve women's and women's hockey in Canada.'
Apps, who won Olympic gold with Canada in 2006, 2010 and 2014, is married to former Team USA captain Megan Duggan.
“I have a four-year-old daughter and a one-year-old daughter, so I’m very happy thinking about the two of them playing hockey in Canada and whether I can contribute in some way to making their experience even better than what I had,” Apps said.
Among the elements that Hockey Canada wants to accelerate in the next one to two years are strengthening leadership and coaching positions for women, as well as increasing the visibility of women's hockey.
Increased revenue from events such as the 2027 Women's World Cup in Quebec was also planned to help pay for more programs for women and girls.
The first Canadian game of the Rivalry Series in Edmonton (the third in the series) was attended by just over 3,000 people.
“We were certainly disappointed with the crowd Wednesday night, but we are again confident that 10,000 people will enter the building today,” Hickox said. “We will continue our presence. We will continue to reward the communities that truly grow the game across the country and are willing to work with partners across the country to make sure we truly deliver that maximum revenue.”
Hockey Canada released the survey for its study, hoping to get at least 600 respondents during the 11-day window, and said it ended up with more than 6,000.
