Last weekend, Chelmsford Ice Hockey Academy celebrated the strong and driven girls within their setup, as part of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend!
Chelmsford IHA have girls in every birth year starting from as young as three, and are actively recruiting through their ‘Learn to Play’ programme. This ensures their U16s girls team has a steady stream of players for years to come.
Almost a third of their academy players are female. Some girls are just starting their journey in hockey and some are reaching for the stars, making GB and elite level women’s senior teams. All of these players are supported by some amazing female coaches at the academy.
Last weekend saw the Mayor of Chelmsford (Councillor Linda Mascot and her consort Ian Mascot) visit the academy to watch their U16s girls team take on Swindon TopCats. This was followed by a house game which was made up of girls from their U10s and U12s.
The house game was an all-female affair, with girls from their U16s team fulfilling the gameday roles such as team coaches, penalty box and referee.
The Mayor then took to the ice to hand out the post-match awards and talk to the children.
Chelmsford IHA said: “It was great for our girls to see a woman in a position such as hers, and just how interactive and enthusiastic she was about our academy and sport.”
Celebrations in Nottingham
Chelmsford weren’t the only ice hockey organisation to be celebrating World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend.
Over 25 girls took to the ice at Nottingham’s National Ice Centre last Saturday to learn new skills before watching a 4-4 draw between the Nottingham Vipers and Solway Sharks Ladies in the WNIHL Division 1.
Watch their video from the day below:
🐍🏒 Over 2️⃣5️⃣ girls took to the ice at Nottingham's @Nat_Ice_Centre on Saturday, as part of the @IIHFHockey's World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend!
The girls learned new skills before watching a 4-4 draw between the Vipers and @SharksLadies in the WNIHL Division 1.
🎥 @NottmVipers pic.twitter.com/x0qJP5jKCX
— England Ice Hockey (@EngIceHockey) October 24, 2023
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