On the Saturday, 125 Nepean players received on-ice instruction on skating and puck handling from Stacy and her volunteer assistants in one hour sessions, from Novice to Midget ages.

Before going to the University of Minnesota as Assistant Coach of the womens’ hockey program, Stacy’s long career in Canadian hockey was capped by a Silver Medal victory as Captain of our Nagano Winter Olympic hockey team.

Ange Martin, Assistant Coach at Ottawa U’s new Gee-Gees varsity program was the Assistant Head Instructor. The remaining instructors were talented, mostly Bantam age players from our association. The entire day, a first time event for the NGHA, was a great success. All players found the extra hour on the ice helpful so early in the new year. Feedback from the participants confirmed that the experience combined fun and learning.

The one day project has grown to weekly power skating and skill sessions for our players throughout the season. Players are benefiting from the emphasis on basics. Coaches and parents are enthusiastic for the new weekly program. Sessions in January have been spiced up by the regular on ice and dressing room appearances of players from Ottawa’s "AAA" womens’ team, the Raiders.

NGHA Vice-President Mary Lou Zywicki and Nepean South Councillor Jan Harder were joined by Nancy Karetak-Lindel, M.P. from the new Canadian Territory of Nunavut at the press conference to announce that Pelly Bay, Nunavut would be the community receiving our donated equipment for girls’ hockey. In the end with equipment donations from our members, Nepean Minor Hockey Association and with the cash surplus from camp participant fees, sponsors and a donation from the 1999 NGHA Tournament - enough equipment was sent North to allow 28 girls to play hockey.
E-mails from community coaches and volunteers tell us that the girls cannot get on the ice enough, go figure!

There was excellent media coverage from our local newspapers and the Ottawa Citizen. Both CJOH and CBOT plugged the event and the NeCAAWS, girls body image,where to play sports, girls self-esteem, girls soccer, girls cycling, girls and nutrition, nutrition for active girls, Canadian Association for women and sport, girls@play, snowboarding, skating, boarding, girl site, sports girl, extreme girl, mountain biking, skateboards, surfboards, X Games"> w RO ran a great story on the dinner hour and late night news. There is no question that many thousands of readers and viewers in Nepean and Eastern Ontario learned more about the growing sport of girl’s and womens’ hockey. The NGHA wants to extend an enormous THANK YOU to Stacy Wilson and Ange Martin, the City of Nepean, the sponsors: Nepean Travel, Nine-to-Five Coffee, Johnston and Buchan, Lacroix Sports, Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport, KL Sport Source for Women, all the volunteers and each and every player participant that made this event such a fantastic start to the new year.