{"id":85013,"date":"2023-04-19T11:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=85013"},"modified":"2024-09-01T09:54:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T13:54:34","slug":"opinion-julie-stevens-discusses-impact-of-womens-world-ice-hockey-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2023\/04\/opinion-julie-stevens-discusses-impact-of-womens-world-ice-hockey-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Julie Stevens discusses impact of Women\u2019s World Ice Hockey Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article written by Julie Stevens, Professor of Sport Management and Director of the Centre for Sport Capacity at Brock University, was originally published in The Conversation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The 2023 Women\u2019s World Ice Hockey Championship concluded in Brampton, Ont., on April 16 with the\u00a0U.S. securing a 6-3 win over Canada. The atmosphere at the championship was special. Almost\u00a060,000 fans\u00a0attended the tournament, with 4,635 attending the championship match. While the gold medal game generated the excitement everyone expected, this event had a unique feel.<\/p>\n

Change is afoot both on and off the ice. The presence of women and girls was on display in all aspects of the event and the fresh air of empowerment raises an important question: does this championship signal a new dawn for women\u2019s and girls\u2019 hockey?<\/p>\n

No longer in the margins<\/h2>\n

For decades, women\u2019s hockey\u00a0lived on the margins\u00a0and was an under-valued and resource-starved part of the game. As time passed, the structure of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 hockey expanded from grassroots to high performance, taking the game from its\u00a0local origins\u00a0to the international stage. Throughout this rapid change, a unique community took hold.<\/p>\n

Today, women\u2019s and girls\u2019 voices are creating a powerful sense of empowerment. Over the course of my\u00a0research on Canadian women\u2019s hockey\u00a0I have found members gain a distinct sense of control, leadership and involvement from participating together.<\/p>\n

Past research\u00a0also notes the dominant norm of masculinity that pervades hockey and identifies how those involved in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 hockey resist the gender hierarchy that drives hockey values and structures.<\/p>\n

One tactic of this resistance is the purposeful implementation of\u00a0role modelling. This is something that happened everywhere at the championship. Of course, the elite athletes on all 10 teams were centre stage and young women and girls could easily see how these players align with their need to feel competent and confident.<\/p>\n

All on-ice officials were women. The majority of the first responder flag bearers were women in police, fire, paramedic and military services. The fan experience included a woman in-game host. The ice crew shovelling the boards and crease during television timeouts were under-18 aged players from nearby girls\u2019 teams.<\/p>\n

Gender diversity<\/h2>\n

Another effective tactic of resistance is gender diversity among decision-makers. Research shows that gender diverse boards can improve\u00a0long-term organizational innovation\u00a0and positively influence the success of\u00a0women CEOs.<\/p>\n

Historically,\u00a0women-led sport governing bodies\u00a0have seen tremendous growth. Recognizing this potential, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) recently launched its\u00a0Inspire the Next campaign. This is a fresh women\u2019s hockey concept that differentiates women\u2019s hockey and promotes women working throughout the game in areas such as marketing, operations, legal, team services, media and photography.<\/p>\n

There are now five women on Hockey Canada\u2019s senior leadership team, two women who lead the International Ice Hockey Federation Women\u2019s Council and many women in senior corporate positions that lead media, marketing, national teams and events within hockey federations, brands and partners.<\/p>\n

Media coverage<\/h2>\n

As a major conduit for legitimacy, media coverage plays an influential role in the game\u2019s development and its infusion into broader hockey fandom. The portrayal of women\u2019s hockey is usually either\u00a0ambivalent or compared to a very different men\u2019s hockey game\u00a0which means changing the message is key.<\/p>\n

Research has found women athletes prefer that coverage\u00a0focus upon their competence\u00a0rather than other characteristics. Placing control of this message in the hands of women who know the game ensures this is emphasized.<\/p>\n

For the first time,\u00a0TSN broadcast\u00a0all 31 championship games live. In addition, 11 women provided analysis during an unprecedented 96.5 broadcast hours.<\/p>\n

From a marketing standpoint, what used to be a sport with a niche audience is now a burgeoning participant landscape. While brands enter women\u2019s hockey to expand market share, corporate-community initiatives must meet the needs of women and girls in hockey. For example, the\u00a0Accelerate pilot, sponsored by well-known Canadian brands, focuses upon the immediate need for gender equity in hockey.<\/p>\n

Hockey Canada still faces\u00a0calls for greater\u00a0accountability and transparency. Canadians continue to demand outright change. The organization must meet these expectations and formally integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into its governance and operations.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, there is no longer any patience to wait for others to make the right decisions. Those within women\u2019s hockey are driving transformation. Action is coming from inside instead of outside the community. The IIHF must convince national hockey federations around the globe to better support women\u2019s hockey in order to prove its \u201cInspire the Next\u201d campaign is more than a slogan.<\/p>\n

The promise of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 hockey is the strongest it has ever been \u2014 and must be sustained.
\n\"The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julie Stevens, Professor of Sport Management and Director of the Centre for Sport Capacity, recently published a piece in The Conversation assessing the legacy of the 2023 Women\u2019s World Ice Hockey Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,7,6],"tags":[299,7488,5541,5505,3696,57,5512],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85013"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85079,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85013\/revisions\/85079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}