Grant-A-Week WINNER
Female Hockey Week in Port Alberni

My Game
(photo by Sonya Drinkwater)

A number of years ago, a young girl named Carly Haggard, right here in Port Alberni, dreamed of playing professional hockey. Her years of hard work and determination have paid off in a big way. She currently attends Dartmouth University on a hockey scholarship. As well, she plays for Canada's Under 22 National Women's Team!

Inspired by her daughter Carly's success, Deb Haggard too, had a dream, that all girls in Port Alberni should have a chance to experience female hockey at it's best.

She approached the Canadian Hockey Association and asked them if there was a chance Canada's Women's Olympic Hockey Team could play an exhibition game here. Their answer was yes. Team Canada would play Team Sweden on October 6, 2001 in our new arena!

Deb recruited interested members from the Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association to form an organizing committee and we quickly got to work. To generate excitement around this event, we asked the Mayor to proclaim October 1st through 7th as "Female Hockey Week in Port Alberni".

There were many activities taking place during the week, including an autograph session with both teams and a hockey session for women and girls who had never tried hockey before. We also had the good fortune of having Vancouver's Carousel Theatre come to Port Alberni and perform their play "My Game" which was written by B.C. playwright Carole Higgins.

The play is an inspiring story about a young female hockey player determined to start a girl's team in her new hometown despite the odds stacked against her.

We approached CAAWS/Nike for a grant in an effort to keep the play's ticket prices down so that as many girls as possible could see this awesome show with such an inspiring message. The picture I have included shows some of the girls who play hockey in Port Alberni meeting the cast after the show.

Since the conclusion of "Female Hockey Week in Port Alberni" we have had seven new girls sign up for minor hockey. As well, our local women's team has added so many new members to their roster that they have formed two teams!

Thanks to CAAWS/Nike for helping us promote girls hockey in Port Alberni. We really appreciate the interest you took in our dream!

Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity contact us