The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Do you idolize Hayley Wickenheiser? Perhaps you want to be like Cassie Campbell or Winnipeg's own Sami Jo Small? The only way that dream can eventually happen is if you join a minor hockey team in the area. Over the years there have been girls playing hockey from Novice up to Midget on co-ed teams. An all-girls team has been formed by combining players from Northern communities to enable them to go to Bantam and Midget tournaments. "We would like to see an all-girls team formed locally at the Novice and Atom levels so they can experience a different perspective of the game right from a young age up through the years," says Boni Schiltroth, a hockey mom. "Girls' hockey is becoming bigger in this country and the opportunities are endless. Local girls that had the opportunity to play on an all-girl team found it to be a great experience so we thought that it was worthwhile to try to get enough interest to make an all-girls team in Flin Flon area." Eighteen-year-old Amber McKenzie is one. She first started skating when she was four-years-old and began playing hockey when she was six. "The amount of females is dying," says McKenzie on the registered girls in the area. "The Pas has six teams, and it's growing in other communities." To stay involved in the game, McKenzie is playing recreation hockey, but is also coaching and officiating games. "It's pretty much my life," says McKenzie. "I lived at the rink." Her parents helped her get involved, and that seems to be a good thing because she "loves the game." The 18-year-old has played with boys and traveled with a female team, which she said "is awesome." Another local who is playing is 15-year-old Tara Abbott, who got involved when her father placed her in hockey to see how she would like it. It's been 10 years later. "It's a fun sport to play," says Abbott. "The experience has been good." She, like McKenzie, likes the experience of meeting new people and seeing different places. She continues to play because her skills have improved over the years. "I just enjoy playing," she explains. It doesn't hurt that the center/right winger puts points on the board. "It feels really good," she says about scoring, "the team hovers around you and makes you feel good about yourself." With the numbers in the sport declining, local minor hockey is going the extra mile to keep it alive. Schiltroth has even gone as far as sending all the girls in local schools home with letters. "Flin Flon Minor Hockey is working hard to promote the game of hockey," Schiltroth says. "Hockey provides many benefits aside from the great physical exercise as it encourages teamwork, cooperation and a sense of individual achievement." Schiltroth added that these learned skills will be a great benefit to the players as they continue on in life in dealing with situations in the classroom and later in the workplace. Flin Flon Minor Hockey is offering a Girls Hockey Sport Development Camp on Saturday, September 24, 2005 from 10:45 a.m. Ð 12:00p.m. Girls of any age are welcome to come out for a morning of fun, sport and exercise. There will be no fees and registration fees will not required prior to the camp. "This is a great opportunity for girls to come out and try hockey and decide if it's something they like," added Schiltroth. There were a total of 16 players registered last year, with two in Hockey Development for ages five and six, four in Novice for seven to eight-year-olds, none in Pee Wee for 11 and 12-year-olds, two in Bantam for ages 13 and 14 and six in Midget for 15-17-year-olds.
