Hockey PEI campaign celebrates female hockey

Marcy Ives has Olympic dreams.

At 10 years old, she plays goalinAtom AAA girls hockey. She hopes to someday play hockey for team Canada.

To encourage more girls to join Marcy on the ice, Hockey PEI started a campaign called Hockey HERoes, which celebrates the accomplishments of successful female hockey players from the province.

Numbers down

The number of girls playing hockey on P.E.I. has dropped slightly in the last few years, and Hockey PEI wants more girls to take up the sport.

"Unfortunately it's still traditionally seen as a boy's sport," said Hockey PEI executive director Rob Newson.

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He hopes the campaign will show girls role models, and encourage them to start playinghockey, or to stick with the sport if they already play.

Hockey HERoes is the first of four campaigns that Hockey PEI will be launching this year geared towards promoting female hockey. The campaigns stem from a strategic plan from a few years ago. Marketing girls hockey was identified as a priority for the organization.

All-girls teams

Newson said the organization also wants to create more all-girlsteams.

"We know that's a key factor for our girls, that they want to play with other females," said Newson.

You can work together because you know that they're girls and you know what girls are like.- PetraKlimes

Ives agrees. She used to play on a co-ed team, but says she prefers playing with girls because "boys are more rough."

Her teammate Petra Klimes also likes playing on an all-girls team.

"I find that with girls you can work together because you know that they're girls and you know what girls are like," said Klimes.

Ives, Klimes and their teammates had to start out on co-ed teams because that's all that was available. But the options are changing. For the first time this year, there's an all-girls novice league.

Klimes hope more girls will take up the sport.

"I would say that it's really fun and that if you like to skate, well, then this is the sport for you," said Klimes.

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