How things have changed!
When the Saskatchewan Hockey Association(SHA) ruled that for the 2018-2019 season players from outside city limits couldn’t play on teams in Regina and Saskatoon, there was a great deal of concern. Many in the rural areas felt the rule would prevent athletes from competing with teammates of the same calibre, because there would not be enough players to form tiered teams.
Despite petitions to reconsider, the SHA stuck to the original plan.
They felt that once local associations got behind it, there would be enough players to support girls teams.
In that first season Warman Minor Hockey Association supported the development of female Peewee, Bantam and Midget teams.
It was not without some challenges, though. The Midget AA team started the season with only twelve skaters and one goalie. They were allowed to use some bantam players as affiliated players and had another join part way through the year, allowing them to be competive.
Since starting that female hockey program from scratch in 2018, membership in the program is up by 405.1%, from 39 to 197, placing Warman in the top five in the province in terms of membership.
This has given a large number of females from a number of areas a chance to play hockey when no options were given to them before.
Aside from Warman, Osler and Martensville, players have come from Aberdeen, Asquith, Cudworth, Dalmeny, Davidson, Delisle, Duck Lake, Dundurn, Grandora, Hague, Hanley, Hawarden, Hepburn, Herschel, Imperial, Langham, Lanigan, Lockwood, Maymont, Outlook, Radisson, Rosetown, Rosthern, Shields, Spiritwood, Viscount and Waldheim.
This season Warman has multiple teams at the U15 and U18 age groups allowing maximum participation in a tiered system.
The Warman AA teams are sitting near the top of the league standings.
In U15AA Warman’s Kolbee Ashe is the league’s top scorer with 31 goals and 15 assists for 46 points in 18 games. Her linemate, Marly Dumanski, is in third place in scoring with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.
A special event, ‘Pack the Barn: A Celebration of Female Hockey’ is planned for Sunday, December 19 at the Legends Centre in Warman.
The day begins at 1:30 p.m. with keynote speakers Grace and Sophie Shirley. The sisters from Saskatoon are former players with the Saskatoon AAA Stars.
They recently helped the University of Wisconsin Badgers win the Frozen Four NCAA Championship in March 2021.
The Badgers won the championship by defeating Northwestern University 2-1 in overtime.
There was another Saskatchewn connection in that game as Prince Albert’s Brooke Hobson was on the Northwestern Huskies team.
At 2:30 the Female Warman Wildcats U15AA will play the Saskatoon Comet Impact in action.
This is a big game as the two teams battle for first place.
As part of the celebration there will be a live DJ and players from the AAA Saskatoon Stars and University of Saskatchewan Huskies will be in attendance.