Islanders expand their commitment to girls youth hockey
Walk into any ice rink on Long Island and you'll so many young hockey players enjoying the sport that they love. There was a time when most if not all of those players were boys.
Times have certainly changed.
There has been an explosion of girl's hockey throughout North America and that includes Long Island. With that in mind, the Islanders have shown a huge commitment to growing the sport for women and that commitment increased on Friday with a significant expansion that creates an increased number of opportunities for girls.
With assistance from corporate partners JetBlue, Global Industrial and Xerox, the Islanders' efforts in making hockey more accessible and inclusive, new initiatives have been established with an investment that more than doubles the participation numbers this season to 1,100. The initiative ensures that more girls and women have access to play and coach hockey throughout the region.
"The entire Islanders organization is committed to growing girl's hockey in our community," said Janet Duch, Executive Vice-President of Marketing and Communication for the Islanders and UBS Arena. "We believe that every child deserves to play the sport they love. We're also grateful for the support of our partners JetBlue, Global Industrial and Xerox, who share our passion."
The Islanders commitment to comprehensive, long-term girl's initiatives that will increase hockey participation and generate excitement for the sport includes a series of programs.
-Try Hockey for Free events.
-Learn to Play programs for beginners.
-Continue to Play programs as a transition between Learn to Play and existing Travel Hockey programs.
-Girls Advance Clinic Series for female players in existing travel hockey programs.
-Girls Tournament Team to complement the Quebec Peewee Team.
-Women's Coaching & Leadership Summit to recruit, support, and provide more opportunities for women in the sport.
There will be a number of special events that the Islanders will host throughout the season including "Girl's Hockey Weekend" presented by Global Industrial this weekend on Saturday and Sunday at The Park at UBS Arena. There will be another weekend in January as the Islanders celebrate all levels of the game in partnership with the International Ice Hockey Federation and USA Hockey.
At the end of the day, the Islanders have raised their commitment to girl's youth hockey with the intent to crate a more inclusive and equitable hockey community.
