Women in the Hockey - Essay Example

? Women’s Hockey Erica Alexander-Allard – 0767833 Hockey and Canadian Nation AHSS 2330 Jason Wilson Introduction Women’s hockey has positively evolved throughout history. By examining specific events that took place in the 1920s, comparisons will be made towards todays time period within society’s impression, respect, and rules that have changed in positive and negative ways1. Relationship between hockey and women dates back almost a century ago when it started with Lady Isobel Stanley who was the daughter of Canada’s Governor General, Lord Stanley of Preston. Lady Isobel Stanley was photographed playing hockey while wearing a long white dress2. Initially women played with long skirts that proved helpful since no shot could get past them. The purpose of this paper is to show how history can shape and explain specific events and changes that have molded the way we view the women’s hockey league currently. It is undeniable that women’s hockey has greatly evolved throughout history, rules and principles of the game have really been transformed to incorporate the new and improved ideas. Women have never received equality like men especially in sports. Rules were laid out differently in relation to the time periods of sport3. Women’s rules now are similar to men’s but there are many factors like body checking and fighting that still vary within the game. Some rules and regulations have therefore been changed though not much because hockey is never physical as it used to be. Currently, hockey is more technical than physical thus owing to the game’s uniformity in all the sexes. Body checking was eliminated from the women’s hockey in 1990 since most of the females do not have the body size and mass that can help them withstand the act similar to the size and mass of the men’s bodies. Currently, a referee may treat body checking as either a minor or even a major foul, depending solely and decided at the ref’s decision. In the recent past, hockey was a contact game sport against women but slowly throughout the years, rules have changed the game into a more modern game where a lot of concentration is put on the stick skills. It has become faster and more technical than before. According to the international hockey governing body, both men and women are represented equally in all the hockey competitions and the body further organizes for the Hockey Rules board4. The governing body which is known as the International Hockey Federation has been in the fore front in organizing and developing the hockey rules for both women and men. Lately, Women’s hockey has been full of fun, safety since it focusses on fair play thus making players to experience passion, thrill and excitement. The main rule is focused on technical skills rather than physique as it used to be in the past thus making the game even more attractive5. Although the contact between women hockey players is minimized, they female players have had several injuries possibly because reaction to contact has ever been fully addressed. It seems that because of the less contact experienced amongst the females, less practice and amount of training is associated with women6. 2 Violence has always been a big part of hockey, from slashing the opposite opponent over the head and causing a type of fracture or broken bone, to damaging their brain or skull. Although women’s hockey has changed since its commencement, the game has not changed so much. Emergence of National Hockey League in 1920, there has been almost similar, violence and media coverage making hockey to be known as a game of violence. In as much as there is no much violence in the women’s hockey, it is still known as the game of violence. Initially in the 1920’s players could fight without removing their gloves while whacking each other with sticks yet this was universally accepted7. issue of violence was even thought to discourage females from signing up to the game and this resulted into the 1990s ban of body checking thus consenting a two line passing via the neutral zone. This initiated a speedy game as well as a better positioned women’s hockey which did not depend on strength and size as before8. Women’s hockey was marred with violence, fighting as well as competitive mentalities and this was made worse by the media. Players have continually had serious injuries in very crucial parts of their bodies including head even after the attempts of reducing violence in the game9. This actually discouraged the number of female players joining the team thus reducing the morale of participation. Interestingly, most of the injuries were caused by contact during the game despite the attempts of reducing body contacts such as elimination of body checking amongst females. Some of the common injuries include thigh, knee and head injuries and the worst injury which would lead to loss of time from the women’s hockey was concussion10. 3 First organized women’s hockey game took place in Barrie, Ontario in 1892 even though there is evidence that the game was played even before that period. The sport quickly grew very fast and women’s club team was formed at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario but the school’s archbishop did not like the game and another women’s team started at McGill University after two years. This was followed by the first hockey championship for the province of Ontario in 1914 but later the popularity declined between the 1930’s and 1940s due to demands of depression that was experienced after the World War II since hockey such as ice hockey was regarded as women’s work after the post war era11. Despite the challenges faced between 1930s and 1940s, Preston Rivulettes came out as one of the greatest women’s hockey team even though women did not get into the game in a big way. It is worth noting that women did not receive the same amount of respect that men did because men and women were not equal in the 1920s. There are many factors that will be compared from the 1920s to our current time period that influences the way that people look at the women’s hockey league today. Factors include equipment used, spectators, speed, rules, body checking, number of participants involved, referees and how far the societies impression of the women’s league has changed12. In the 1920’s, women’s hockey was not popular. In men’s hockey leagues, many spectators continued to watch and kept an interest in the game. Women’s hockey was not in the tabloids and did not receive much attention. Today, there is more attention towards the women’s hockey league but it is mainly still in the shadow of men’s hockey13. Each decade brought new funding, media attention, great players, and changing attitudes towards female athletes. Gender inequality took center stage after the Second World War until in 1956 when a nine year old was secretly found playing hockey with male counterparts in Toronto after she had cut her hair shot14. When her case of challenging the boys’ only policy was represented to the Supreme Court in Ontario, Abby Hoffman lost the case. The fact that hockey was a preserve of males was very evident in this situation. The nine year old had been playing in the minor team for a long time disregarding her sex and even trying to change her look just to play hockey but her efforts could not even be recognized by the Supreme Court. Even though the issue of girls joining the boys’ team was denied, 1960s showed a revival of women’s hockey15. A new generation of players and forced their way to the game by demanding opportunity to play in the learning institutions leading to the Canadian intercollegiate women’s hockey in 1980s. Women’s forceful demands bore fruits resulting into reappearance of women’s leagues and teams which saw the first Dominion ladies’ Championship held in 1967 with all the 22 teams coming from Ontario. Indeed the 1960s marked a great rebound of women playing hockey and this was noticed by the commercial sector that by 1970s, some female hockey equipment such as women’s gear was produced16. Also, there was an initiation of Ontario Women’s Hockey Association in 1970s even though there was still barrier to integrating the game. This was evident when in 1976, a ten year old girl, Gail Cummings went to Ontario court to file a human rights grievance after she was denied an opportunity to enroll with a boys’ team. During the periods between 1980s and 1990s many countries started organizing for national women’s programs and championships thus making it an established sport in several countries such as U.S17. When women began to play hockey, teams and leagues mostly began in Canada and the United States. Since 1990s, the population of women players as well as female leagues has increased unprecedentedly. Women’s Hockey became more popular with many fans and players in the 1990s where the game was largely played both at professional and amateur levels18. In some countries, the game was taken to the ice and the first women’s hockey medal was at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. The medal was awarded to the U.S team who beat the Canadian team 3-1, but since then, the Canadian team has been performing really well. The medal marked the symbol of the milestone for the women hockey sport after their struggle for recognition. In 2002, Canada revenged their loss to the U.S by taking the gold and the two teams became big rivals since then. There was also rise of Women’s hockey in Europe that saw Germany hosting women’s European championship in 1989 before the 2004 European Women’s Champions Cup that was first won by Sweden. The 2006 Olympic Winter games in Turin, Italy saw an introduction of Women’s hockey in the international tournament where Sweden surprisingly beat U.S 3-2 in the semifinal while Canada beat the Swedes 4-1 in the final19. in 2007, a professional league was introduced, The national Women’s Hockey league which later turned out to be the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) where the CWHL’s Montreal Stars won the first Clarkson Cup in 2009 that was donated by Governor general Adrienne Clarkson20. The Women’s hockey has really advanced both in Canada (which currently has female hockey registration of 87, 000 compared to the 8000 in 1990) and globally where the number of female registered players by 2010 was 170, 00021. Generally, Women’s Hockey has greatly advanced since its initiation and has widely spread. There have been several local and international tournaments organized almost everywhere around the world22. Numerous professional bodies and professional players have come out all over the world. The initial obstacles that were put in place by the society attempting to block the success of the game have greatly been dealt with23. However, may be something should be done and more strict rules initiated to prevent the rising number of violence and eventual injuries. The International professional Women’s Hockey should ensure that its members are fully protected from both minor and major injuries as much as possible. All in all, credit must be given to the success of the Women’s Hockey. It is undeniable that Women’s Hockey has greatly evolved throughout history, rules and principles of the game have really been transformed to incorporate the new and improved ideas. Bibliographies Adams, Mary L. “The Game of Whose Lives? Gender, Race, and Entitlement in Canada’s “National” Game.” Artificial Ice: Hockey, Culture, and Commerce (2006): 71-84. 'Arcy Jenish.. "Hockey's New Roots." 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