Hockey has been a big part of Doug Grandy’s life since he was a young athlete playing on Fredericton ice. Now, as a father of two young girls, he’s returning to those same rinks but with a different purpose.
Despite record-setting hockey enrolment from girls across the country, he said, there are still challenges facing young female athletes in a male-dominated sport, where top players are often compelled to join co-ed leagues, and the options for recreational hockey are in short supply.
There are also considerable financial pressures and time commitments associated with competitive hockey, leaving many without an avenue for ice time.
Grandy said he has one daughter who is competitive, while the other simply loves to play. He wanted to create a space for both of them — and all girls — to feel welcome and supported.
“I feel like with female hockey, sometimes the equality isn’t always there like it should be,” he said. “The boys hockey … it just seems to take a forefront and a lot of the girls don’t really have a place to call their own.”
That’s why he created Rink Rebels, a club where girls gather on and off the ice to play, train and develop in their sport, no matter where they’re starting from.
“We’re open to rec players and Triple-A players,” he said. “We don’t want to leave any girl out. We want to make it somewhere where all girls feel welcome here, and it’s somewhere where they can grow confidence and meet other girls and somewhere to call their own.”
There are fees to cover basic expenses like ice time and coaching, including $20 to join an ice session, and $25 to take part in an instructional dry-land workout. There are also some subsidized rates for those who want to play but struggle to afford it.
Katia Pelowich has just wrapped up four seasons with the St. Thomas University Tommies and is going to play for the Concordia University Stingers next season in Montreal. For now though, she’s having what she calls a “surreal experience” as a coach with the Rink Rebels.
“Growing up, I never had something like this,” she said. “So just getting involved in something I love and I’m passionate for has been awesome so far.”
Pelowich said she had older brothers in hockey to look up to, who encouraged her to succeed and stick with the sport. But having female friends to connect and play with “would have been fabulous.”
All skill levels welcome at new female hockey club
Now, she’s one of the role models for up-and-coming athletes like Lexie Thompson.
“It’s pretty cool to play with players on Tommies,” Thompson said. “I look up to them. I always look forward to one of the older girls being on the ice because it makes it a more fun experience.”
Thompson played under-15 AAA for the past two years, but will soon try out for an under-18 team.
“I’m mainly just here to have fun — and train,” she said. “When I’m having fun, and playing my best … it brings me to my full potential.”
It’s that positive environment that experts say fosters a lifelong love of sport, and that’s crucial for female athletes.
According to a recent study, 63 per cent of girls ages six to 18 report taking part in team or individual sports weekly. That’s compared to 68 per cent of boys.
The research was conducted by the non-profit, Canadian Women & Sport, and IMI Consulting, who surveyed more than 2,000 girls last summer.
It calls for greater investment in girls’ sporting organizations, tailored coaching, and safer and more supportive environments to help close that gap.
When it comes to hockey, there were 15,606 players registered in New Brunswick for the 2023-2024 season, with 3,290 of them — or 21 per cent — women and girls.
That’s a 42 per cent increase in female registrations in just five years.
And the growth is happening across the country, according to Hockey Canada’s latest figures released last month. They show a record 603,000 female players registered in sanctioned programs last season.
Despite the increase in female involvement, Grandy said the access to equal opportunities for beginners, late bloomers, or those who are aging out of their league, isn’t always there. And if it’s just about the competition, he said, you can lose a lot of players.
“We do have a lot of older girls as you see out here today,” he said. “And these girls are the ones that are 17, 18, that are at the end of their [minor] hockey career. But they still love it.”
“We always have to go back to the grassroots: why did the girls start playing? They started playing because of the community, everybody that’s around them. So as long as we stick to that here with the Rink Rebels, I think that we’re going to be able to help a lot of girls.”
Rink Rebels will host its first tournament from Aug. 8-10, bringing in young girls from across the Maritimes, as well as Maine and Ontario. With close to 200 young athletes signed up for the weekend event Grandy said it shows there is a desire for this type of friendly competition.
“They’ll play for the weekend and they’ll play for a championship, so there is a little bit of competition, but the idea is that they come and they meet more girls, so that when they do get back on the ice, that community exists everywhere, right?”
It’s an event Ava Burns is excited about. She plays right wing for the Triple-A Fredericton High School’s Black Kats hockey team, but in her spare time, she’s a junior coach with Rink Rebels, which she calls a refreshing change.
“Everyone is included,” she said. “Anyone can join, no matter your background, whether you played the year before, or your skill level. You come through Rink Rebels, you join the movement, and you’re part of the family immediately.”
“Not everything about hockey is positive. But you come here and it’s all smiles at the rink.”
Burns said she looks forward to going “head to head with some of these players around the province” next month.
“Just the opportunity to meet them and regroup and gain positivity with them and become friends with players, so when we’re in this tournament and in the regular season, it just adds more fun to the game,” she said.
