Thank you for signing, sharing, and showing your support for the U18 Women’s Hockey Championship - the outpouring of support has been incredible and continues to grow. 

At the time of writing this, over 38,000 people have signed and over 500 have added their voice about why this matters to them. Here is a small sample of their reasons:

• This is the last opportunity for many young female hockey players to compete on an international stage because there is currently no U20 Women’s World Juniors. One suporter wrote, "As a female ice hockey player, I know how many hours of work, dedication, training and practice these women have put in. It is not fair for this opportunity to be stripped away from them yet again… especially for the women who cannot play next year because of age (U18). They deserve better… women’s hockey deserves better."
• Canceling the tournament for a second year in a row may be preventing two cohorts of women from accessing many of the opportunities that accompany competing at an international level, such as university  scholarships, professional offers, and showcasing their talents to Olympic scouts. This was confirmed by a supporter who wrote, "I am a professional women’s hockey GM who has signed or drafted more than 10 players who have played in an IIHF Women’s U18 tournament."
• Supporting professional women’s hockey matters not just to current players, but to young players wondering whether they might be able to pursue a career in the sport they love. One parent wrote, "My U12 daughter sees these women as role models, and something to aspire to. What does it teach her when the men can still play and the women can’t?"

A summary of what has happened so far:

On December 24th, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) canceled the U18 Women’s World Championships, which were set to start in early January in Sweden, citing “safety issues”.  On December 26th, the Men’s U20 World Juniors kicked off their 10 day championship tournament in Alberta, Canada. This is the second year in a row that the Women’s championship has been canceled - not postponed - while the Men’s continues as scheduled. 

A word of good news:

The Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) has stepped up and generously offered to host the tournament themselves, offering to work with the IIHF and Hockey Canada on timing and safety. We have yet to hear whether the IIHF is interested in collaborating to make an alternative event happen.

Hopefully when they see the incredible backing of this petition, they will be encouraged to know how many of us are excited to see the puck drop. Please continue to share this petition to show the IIHF (and potential sponsors!) how much support exists for the Women’s Championships.

Once we gather as many signatures as possible, we will be sending this petition and the heartfelt comments to the IIHF so they have documented proof of the importance of the women’s game. 

In the meantime, we will also be gathering ideas about what would help to advance women’s hockey beyond this championship for the next email update - please use #letthepuckdrop. For example, the article by Jeff Marek, SportsNet, echoes many of the comments we have been seeing: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/rink-fries-time-whats-right-future-womens-hockey/

Please continue sharing the petition to everyone you think may be as supportive as you have been, and please know how much your support is appreciated by everyone involved in the sport.

With thanks,

Lori Bolliger

Petition updates on Instagram (@loribolligerphotography) and Twitter (@loribolliger).

Special thanks to Erika Bolliger for helping to manage and share this petition.