Have you ever wondered where the best female hockey players in the world play in the non-Olympic years?
Yesterday afternoon, I spent the afternoon helping to organize the best women’s hockey league in the world, The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).
The CWHL has 15 current and former Olympians playing on its 7 teams as well as many other players who have competed at all of the elite levels of the women’s game - from the Canadian and American National team programs to the NCAA and CIS.
This is league where the elite compete. While there may be other leagues in the world that can boast a high level of talent and competition, the CWHL is unique.
This league is run by the players for the players.
There are no team owners. No contracts (million dollar or otherwise).
There is complete transparency. No secret player trades behind closed doors. No luring high-level talent away with offers of big dollars.
In my opinion, the small group of us who envisioned putting the CWHL together had 2 main goals in mind:
1) To give us somewhere to play: whether players have aspirations of reaching the international level of play or just want to compete at the highest level possible, the CWHL is one of the few leagues in the world where elite female players can compete against the best.
2) To give young girls something to aspire to: Every girls hockey player dreams of playing at the Olympics. And every 4 years, 20 talented women will have that opportunity. Given the fact that there are over 75,000 female hockey players registered across Canada (with similar numbers in the US), the odds of making it to the Games are relatively low.
But much in the same way that very few of the players in the NHL will make their Olympic teams, the vast majority of the players in the CWHL will never compete at the Olympics. But they have the opportunity to compete with and against players on a nightly basis that have been there and will be there in the future.
The level of commitment it takes to compete at the highest heights of the female game is huge - and growing.
The players in the CWHL are not only focused on playing at the elite level, but also on ensuring that every girls hockey player has the same opportunity.
Until next time,
Kim
