Over 120 female hockey players, age four to eleven, are already registered and excited to participate in the inaugural Fierce Female Hockey Camp (FFHC) June 4th and 5th at the J&G Arena in Brandon.
The goal of the event, created by Brandon area coach and previous Hockey Brandon Board Member Amy Doerksen, is creating a safe and engaging experience to grow the female game over the long term focusing on our youngest players.
“The response to this camp has been overwhelming. In less than two weeks we hit our registration goal and had to add spots!” says Doerksen. “This camp is clearly filling a void in sports programming currently available. We’re offering our female athletes a very unique opportunity to come together in an all female environment.”
The FFHC includes on-ice and off-ice sessions both days and everything is female led. On-ice instructors bring extensive experience as current coaches working with different minor hockey associations throughout the province, in addition to having played high-level hockey themselves at university/college, national and/or international levels.
The FFHC also has a very special guest joining weekend activities. 2022 Team Canada Olympic Gold Medalist Ashton Bell will be at the rink helping. From Deloraine, MB, Bell knows first hand some of the challenges female hockey players face and strongly believes in giving back to help build stronger programming and support for future generations of female players.
In addition to developing our young female athletes, the FFHC also includes a series of Hockey Workshops open for anyone to attend. Through partnerships with female leaders at Sport Manitoba and Skate Canada, the Camp is offering a learning opportunity to those currently coaching or interested in coaching. The workshop series, also taking place at J&G Arena, is $20/day or $30 for the weekend and includes a provided lunch both days.
Brandon Source for Sports is the major corporate sponsor of the event and partner/buyer Joel Whiteside says he was quick to get behind this initiative. “When Amy presented the idea to me, I knew it was not just a perfect fit for the company but for me personally, “says Whiteside. “I’m a dad to two amazing girls who are active in sport and I see the need to offer more female focused programing. This is going to be the start of an annual event that will only grow.”
The FFHC is a profit neutral event whereby any profits will be invested back into the development of future hockey programming for female players and leaders. The event is being organized by a group of dedicated volunteers from across the Westman Region and has corporate sponsorship from Brandon Source for Sports, The Cooperators (Collins and Associates Ltd.) and Tour Fit in Brandon.
