Do women play hockey?

Yes, women play hockey. Records of women playing hockey have been recorded as early as the 1890s. A challenge women’s match was held in 1902 between the Ladies Clubs of Trois Rivieres and Montreal at the time where there was no organized leagues or tournaments Women have competed in hockey tournaments since 1916 featuring Canadian and American women competing in Cleveland, Ohio. For a brief period, women’s hockey was declined after WWII well throughout the 1950s and 1960s considering hockey more like a men’s sport. It wasn’t until the 1960s when it was revived by 9-year-old Abby Hoffman who challenged a boy’s team.

Rhonda Taylor took women’s hockey into the Corporate Board Room of Canada in 1982 where the first women’s Nationals occurred. Following in 1987 the first women’s world championship was held in Toronto, Ontario.The first woman to ever compete in hockey was Manon Rheaume. Rheaume competed in an NHL game in 1992 with the Tampa Bay Lighting against St. Louise Blues. Most notable historical women’s hockey games took place in 2000 and 2011. Woman’s hockey has been slowly gaining more recognition increasingly growing more popular.

Women do play hockey, and while some have played in the Olympics and other amateur events, there are still no women playing in the NHL in purely NHL games not as a part of a charity event or any other exhibition. Not that there is a written rule stating that women cannot play in the league, but none have actually tried out and been selected for the team. While there are women’s leagues in the United States, there are no female players in the NHL, the most widely known league. In places like Canada, there is at least one women’s leagues. The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) or the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), which was a predecessor to the CWHL.

Hockey has been around in this country since the turn of the last century, and as the names have evolved to NWHL and then the CWHL, the game became a part of the Canadian sports scene. The CWHL actually was created from a model developed from the National Lacrosse Team after owners were losing money in the NWHL a few years ago. Players, rather than give up the love the sport, would formed the CWHL, and while it does not have nearly the interest that the NHL does, it has afforded women the chance to play the sport.

Yes Women play hockey. Women and girls have taken to hockey since early 1990s. Many female teams and leagues have been set up. It will amaze you to know that women’s hockey is part of the Olympic events and it has been a part of the Olympics since 1998. According to the Canadian Hockey Association, the first recorded women’s hockey games took place in 1892 in Barrie, Ontario.

The first era of women’s hockey peaked in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The demands for the female hockey started to decline in the 1930s and 1940s, mostly as a result of the demands of the Depression and World War II. Today, the number of female hockey teams and leagues is at all-time high. Canada and United States have the most female hockey players and their number continue to grow.