Fans appreciate the commitment needed to become an elite hockey player, but how many people know what it takes to become an elite referee? To reach the elite level, the effort is intense. And more women are doing it every year.  

In 1997, Laurie Taylor-Bolton and Marina Zenk were among the first experienced elite officials with the OWHA (Ontario Women’s Hockey Association) when they made history at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Kitchener, Ont., where they formed part of the first all-female squad to officiate an International Ice Hockey Federation event. A year later, both went as referees to the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan – the first time women’s hockey was featured as an Olympic sport. Now, there are about 2,000 female officials registered with Hockey Canada.

A strong player, Taylor-Bolton started refereeing when she was 15 years old. “I had a friend who said it was a great part-time job – I could watch hockey and get paid for working on my skating,” she said.

Early on, she rarely saw other female referees. She started out working boys’ games because girls’ hockey hadn’t yet taken hold in Newmarket, Ont., where her family lived. In the years that followed – after she got her driver’s licence – she decided to focus on refereeing female games at a variety of levels.  

“We only have so much time in a day, and I really wanted to dedicate myself to female hockey,” she said.

At the same time, Zenk was refereeing intramurals in Toronto, Ont., and said her turning point was returning home to Ottawa in 1988. Women’s hockey hadn’t grown as quickly there, so much of her experience came from fast-paced Midget AA boys’ games, and high level provincial, national and international assignments she received from the OWHA and Hockey Canada. In those games, she worked hard to earn respect from the players and fans.  

“You have to know your rules, and you have to have confidence,” she said.

Taylor-Bolton and Zenk went on to work at the 1994 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Lake Placid, N.Y., the Pacific Rim Championship in 1996, and the 3 Nations Cup tournaments in both 1996 and 1997.  

So how did they get there? Hockey Canada has a multi-level officiating program – each successive level develops referees and linesmen capable of officiating everything from minor league hockey games to international championships.  

Becoming an elite referee is also about physical endurance.  

“Officials need to be treated as athletes in their sport,” said Todd Anderson, manager of officiating for Hockey Canada. “They need to be in as good shape or better than the players.”

That takes cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and exceptional skating skills.  Equally important, Taylor-Bolton said, is having the right mind-set.

“You can’t referee without having mental toughness,” she said. “You have to skate at that speed, but you’re not going back to the bench after a 30-45 second shift. You’re out there for the whole game, making split second decisions.”

It also requires opportunities to work high-calibre games. In the women’s game, this still presents some challenges. Although female hockey has grown exponentially since the first women’s worlds back in 1990, there just aren’t as many elite women’s games for women to officiate, Anderson said.

But a lot has changed. Soon after returning home from Nagano, Taylor-Bolton became Referee-in-Chief for the OWHA – a post she still holds. Under her leadership, the OWHA continued to develop female and male supervisors and instructors, and monitored the performance of close to 2,000 officials. Even still, she said, most of the effort comes from each referee’s own time and resources, most often around a full-time day job.

Perseverance is why Zenk, who refereed the gold medal match between Canada and U.S. at Nagano 1998, said her biggest memory from those Olympics was being selected to referee the first game of the tournament.

“That was the most rewarding thing,” she said.  “It represented that I overcame all the challenges leading up to that event.”

After working women’s senior championships in Finland and Hungary in 1999, Zenk became Hockey Canada’s first development coordinator for female officials. Today, Hockey Canada still works at a national level to identify and fund opportunities for female officials to travel to high-calibre events, Anderson explains.

Taylor-Bolton said she never planned to be Referee-in-Chief this long, but her love of hockey is as strong as ever, and she still has a strong desire to give back.

“You can’t be an ordinary person who does something extraordinary and not owe the game something,” she said.

Whether you believe the first recorded Canadian women’s hockey game was in Barrie, Ont., or behind Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ont., one way or another, it all began in Ontario.

Two centuries ago in the 1890s, Ontario women were not satisfied to sit placidly on the sidelines. They got into the mix with those early hockey games. And they’ve been raising the bar – actually, more like pushing, the bar – ever since.

Early driving forces behind women’s hockey in Ontario were varsity teams such as the University of Toronto and Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. The popularity of women’s hockey soon became widespread and by the turn of the 20th century, women’s teams were sprouting up all over the country.

As more women took to the ice, players realized that, although long skirts had certain goaltending advantages, they were impractical. In no time, women’s teams started sporting new, more appropriate wear, such as shorter woollen skirts (and then trousers!) with long stockings, toques and gloves.

The Ottawa Alerts were one of the early teams to adopt reasonable, even stylish, hockey wear for women.

But what about safety? Knee pads and heavy gloves soon became the norm. In fact, some women played a leading role in the safety of the game. Long before Jacques Plante popularized the hockey mask, for example, Elizabeth Graham, a goalie for the Queen's University team, wore a fencing mask to protect herself in goal.

With the growing popularity of women’s hockey came the desire for competition. And Ontario was in the forefront again. In 1914, the first provincial championship was held in Picton, Ont., with six teams competing for bragging rights.

Nothing, it seemed, could stop Ontario female teams. And on , several of those teams came together to announce the forming of the Ladies Ontario Hockey Association (LOHA). The newly formed association included the Toronto Hockey League, in addition to London, Ottawa and St. Thomas clubs. The infamous Preston Rivulettes joined the LOHA in 1931.

The Rivulettes. Now they posed a bit of a problem for other women’s teams, simply because they were so good, losing only two games in 350 played. As a result, other women’s teams did not want to join the LOHA because they felt they had no chance of winning. At first, the league rearranged itself to accommodate an A league for teams with a high skill level and a B league for less seasoned teams. In the end, the LOHA was dissolved and amalgamated with the Women’s Amateur Athletic Federation in 1941.

Most unfortunately, something could, and did, stop women’s hockey skates in their tracks: the war years.

The right to play hockey, however, had been a hard-won battle, one women in Ontario and across the country were still fighting. So while many women stopped playing hockey to help with the war effort, a handful of tough-minded players would simply not give it up, keeping the hockey home fires burning.

Players like Hazel McCallion, whose dazzling speed led the three-team Montreal league during the war years. On the east coast, the Gallant sisters were among the ragtag players fostering flagging P.E.I. teams, while in the west, teams like the Moose Jaw Wildcats kept women’s hockey alive.

With every set back, women’s hockey worked harder. They had faced enormous challenges, met each one face on, and swatted them away with one deft swipe of a hockey stick. Even a world war could not extinguish the passionate flame of women’s hockey. Through sheer determination, they’d made it, though beleaguered and bruised, into the 1950s.

But after all they’d been up against, women’s hockey was dealt yet another blow: funding cuts to women’s inter-collegiate sports teams – including the great Canadian game – a training ground for many accomplished Canadian female hockey players.

Lobbied by female survivalists like Cookie Cartwright, a leader in the formation of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA), funding was eventually granted at various universities, which helped the resurgence of women’s hockey across the province.  Soon, teams and leagues sprouted up across the country and the game was on again!

During the 1960s and early 1970s, teams like the Brampton Canadettes, the Kingston Red Barons and the Don Mills Satan’s Angels were making names for themselves.

And with the growing legions of women playing, came competitions, such as the Brampton Canadettes Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament, the Wallaceburg Lipstick Tournament, Preston Tournament and Picton Tournament. Teams and players from Ontario, other provinces and even the United States came together in hockey rinks throughout the country to share their love of hockey.

As interest in women’s hockey spread again throughout Ontario, it was obvious that an organizing body was needed and in 1975, the Ontario Women's Hockey Association was formed. The OWHA is the governing body of female hockey in Ontario and promotes, provides and develops opportunities for girls and women of all abilities to play female hockey in Ontario.

While a new association did not translate immediately into more women’s hockey teams, financial support for those teams or even convenient ice time, it did provide female hockey players with a common voice.

For example, that voice, the OWHA, lobbied for and hosted the first national women’s championship in Brantford in 1982 and secured its first title sponsor – Shopper’s Drug Mart. This work by the OWHA was also critical in the formation of a national female hockey council that same year.

Following the success of the creation of a national women’s championship, the OWHA continued to follow its vision to have the game recognized at the international level with a world championship and Olympic participation.

Denied the right to host a world championship, the OWHA persevered and hosted the first Women’s World Hockey Tournament in North York and Mississauga, Ont., in 1987. Teams from Holland, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland  the United States – and of course host country Canada – participated in the exciting event. Delegates from Australia, China, Great Britain, Norway and West Germany also attended.  

This international tournament was the turning point for female hockey, as it was immediately followed by a European championship in West Germany in 1989 and a full world championship in 1990 in Ottawa, which hosts the official IIHF event for a second time this year in April. The lobby for inclusion into the Winter Olympic Games became a reality in Nagano, Japan in 1998, when Canada’s National Women’s Team won a silver medal. Since then, the red and white have won three gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games, including most recently at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.

Through intense competition on the ice and tireless cooperation off the ice, women’s hockey had achieved the impossible dream. It had shown the world the amazing victories that can be accomplished through international unity. Young girls throughout the world enrolled in hockey, as they had exceptional role models to follow.

While women across Canada can take pride in helping to make the female game  popular around the world, Ontario and the OWHA have a special place of honour. They gave birth to women’s hockey and kept it breathing when it wasn’t fairing very well. Keep pushing the bar, girls!

For sources used in this story, please CLICK HERE.

– Krefeld, West Germany

When the 1955 IIHF World Championship started in West Germany in late February of that year, the Penticton Vees, Canada's representatives, were expected not just to win gold but to restore pride to a nation that had been humiliated on the international stage the previous year for the first time in 35 years of participation. It was in 1954 that the Soviets played in their first IIHF World Championship, and claimed the gold medal ahead of the Canadians with a 7-2 win on the final day.

Canada had a year to wait for revenge, but the Soviets were not a team to give in easily, and the Vees knew their task was a huge one. As the tournament progressed, the games went according to form: for every Canadian win, the Soviets also won. It became obvious that the last game of the tournament, between the two nations, would again determine the world champion.

Yet on that final night in Krefeld the Canadians did, indeed, reclaim what they felt was rightfully theirs, hammering the Soviets 5-0. Ivan McLelland got the shutout, and the team was led by the three Warwick brothers – Grant, Bill, and Dick. The game established once and for all a rivalry that has produced many of international hockey's greatest moments. Canada vs. Soviet Union – it doesn't get much better today, and it didn't get any better half a century ago, either.

As part of the IIHF's 100th anniversary celebrations, IIHF.com is featuring the 100 Top International Hockey Stories from the past century (1908-2008). Continuing through the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Quebec City & Halifax, from May 2 – 18, the IIHF will post approximately three stories a week counting down from Number 100 to 1.

The Top-10 Countdown will be one of the highlights of the IIHF’s Centennial Gala evening in Quebec City on May 17, the day prior to the gold medal game of the 2008 IIHF World Championship. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the Top Story of the Century.

“I am disappointed that I can not be involved with Team Canada at this year’s World Championship due to the personal situation surrounding my mother’s illness.  I would not be able to put in the 100% that is needed for Hockey Canada.

Through all of this, I appreciate the patience and support of Hockey Canada and Bob Nicholson. Steve Tambellini will do a wonderful job for Hockey Canada and is more than qualified to lead Canada as they go for their third consecutive World Championship gold medal.  

Steve has great experiences internationally at past World Championships, the 2002 Olympics and the World Cup last fall.Ken Holland is a great addition to the World Championship staff, and brings Stanley Cup Championships along with a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm which will benefit this year’s team in Austria.

Marc Habscheid is the right coach to lead Team Canada in Austria, and deserves to be named today.  He has done a tremendous job through this season, he has a great knowledge of the international game and has shown over the past few years his talent of developing young players and winning.

I have spoken with Bob, Steve and Ken and told them that even though I can not be involved directly this year and can not be there, I am available to provide my opinion at any time, if needed.Team Canada is in good hands going to Austria with Bob, Steve, Ken and Marc, and I wish them all the best."

Team Canada’s Caroline Ouellette of Montreal has been named one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which goes to the top player in women's Division 1 U.S. college hockey.

Minnesota forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell are the other two finalists. The field was reduced from 10 candidates to three Monday.

Ouellette, a veteran of Canada’s national women's hockey team, is a senior and captain of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. She ranked fourth in the U.S. in points per game (2.44) and assists per game (1.47) and was one of only four players to reach 70 points this season.

The five-foot-11, 171-pound power forward had 31 goals and 47 assists in 32 games this season for the Bulldogs. She has won three world championships and an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian team and will play in next month's world championship in Linkoping, Sweden.

This year's recipient will be announced March 26 during the NCAA Frozen Four women's championship in Portsmouth, N.H.

Canadian national team forward Jennifer Botterill of Winnipeg was a two-time winner of the award (2001, 2003) when she played for Harvard.

Halifax, NS, -- There are few, if any, sports teams that can claim the bragging rights to seven world championships, let alone the perfect 35 – 0 record while competing in them. As Canada’s 2004 National Women’s Hockey Team prepares to defend their title later this month at the 2004 IIHF World Women’s Championship, Molson – a long-time supporter of the team – wants to make sure they have all the support they need to make an eighth consecutive win a reality.

Daniel J. O’Neill, president and CEO of Molson Inc., visited Halifax on Monday to present some of the Women’s National Hockey Team with a cheque for $100,000, of which $5,000 will go to each team player to assist them in off-setting their personal training expenses during the season, and ensure that they can focus on their goal of a gold medal in Halifax.

“The National Women’s Hockey team performance and success on the international stage has been an inspiration for Molson and Canadians across the country,” said O’Neill. “Our commitment to hockey and to elite amateur athletes is one of the things that make our company unique in Canada. The spirit of commitment to achieving success is something all of our employees share with this talented hockey team. We are proud to be associated with such a wonderful group of athletes and I invite other Canadian companies to get involved and to support our athletes and national teams.”

“Molson has been a great partner for the national hockey teams for many years,” said Bob Nicholson, president, Hockey Canada. “The support and leadership of Dan O’Neill and the direct involvement with such a proud Canadian company has meant so much to these athletes that they really believe they’ve got an extra player on their bench wherever they go. Now, we just have to come to Halifax and bring back gold.”

Molson’s support of the Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team is another example of Molson’s deeply rooted commitment to the development of Canada’s national sport. For more than 50 years, Molson has established and maintained an unparalleled network of relationships with hundreds of teams and leagues across the country-from every Canadian NHL club, junior hockey leagues and the men’s and women’s national teams to adult recreational and community hockey clubs throughout Canada. Recently, Molson donated approximately $90,000 to the three provincial hockey associations in the Maritimes.

Molson Inc. (TSX: MOL.A) is one of the world's largest brewers of quality beer with operations in Canada, Brazil and the United States. A global brewer with $3.5 billion in gross annual sales, Molson traces its roots back to 1786, making it North America's oldest beer brand. Committed to brewing excellence, Molson combines the finest natural ingredients with the highest standards of quality to produce an award-winning portfolio of beers, including Molson Canadian, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Rickard's, A Marca Bavaria and Kaiser.

CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada and its Members have published a Tracking Maltreatment in Sanctioned Hockey report, which includes nation-wide data collected during the 2022-23 season from two independent complaint management mechanisms and all rules in Section 11 of the Hockey Canada Playing Rules.

The information contained in this report is an important step in Hockey Canada’s ongoing efforts to better track, identify and respond to maltreatment in hockey.

In December 2022, Hockey Canada and its Members published a report of all incidents of verbal taunts, insults or intimidation based on discriminatory grounds which occurred during the 2021-22 season, under Rule 11.4 – Discrimination.

The Tracking Maltreatment in Sanctioned Hockey report includes a broader scope of tracked maltreatment behaviours, including:

• Complaint intake data from Hockey Canada’s Independent Third Party (ITP);
• Ice hockey complaint intake data from the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC);
• Tracking of Rule 11.4 penalties and allegations from all 13 Members;
• Data from a pilot project that tracked other types of Rule 11 penalties in specific Hockey Canada Member jurisdictions.

“The Tracking Maltreatment in Sanctioned Hockey report is critical in our efforts to identify and take action against egregious behaviours that have no place in hockey and sport in general,” said Natasha Johnston, vice-president of sport safety for Hockey Canada. “We will continue to be transparent in publicly sharing the data we collect with our Members and use the insights to better inform our collective actions moving forward.

“With our Members, we are committed to expanding reporting on maltreatment in sanctioned hockey during the 2023-24 season as well as working to prevent and address maltreatment behaviours in sanctioned hockey programming. As we continue to build greater awareness and facilitate greater opportunities and trust for individuals to come forward, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in maltreatment incidences being reported on and off the ice.”

Hockey Canada will continue to make national reports on maltreatment publicly available and accessible on an annual basis as part of its overall sport safety framework.

CALGARY, AB – Following an extensive recruitment process led by a search committee comprised of key stakeholders and supported by an external executive search firm, Hockey Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Katherine Henderson as its next president and chief executive officer.

The Hockey Canada Board of Directors, under the leadership of the Hon. Hugh L. Fraser, was tasked with creating a vision for the next phase of transformation and growth of Canada’s official winter sport. One of its key mandates was to identify and recruit a president and chief executive officer who aligns with the vision of the board.

Henderson has spent the past seven years as the chief executive officer of Curling Canada, where she successfully led initiatives to introduce new Canadians to the sport, spearheaded pay equity for Canada’s men’s and women’s curling teams, and drove a financial turnaround of the organization’s business model. She is also currently the elected co-chair of the Winter Caucus of Sport (Canadian Winter Olympic and Paralympic Sports).

“Katherine has the track record and experience to lead the ongoing transformation of Hockey Canada,” said the Hon. Hugh L. Fraser, chair of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors. “With her at the helm we are confident that we will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure hockey is a safe and inclusive sport and that Hockey Canada benefits from best-in-class governance.”

“The future of hockey is limitless,” said Henderson. “As a winter sport nation, with a long tradition in our ice and snow sports, playing and watching hockey is undeniably a part of who we are as Canadians. I am looking forward to working with our board and staff, our athletes, our Members and local associations, our corporate and hockey partners, and our fans and participants to ensure that all Canadians have a personal hockey experience that is right for them.”

Before joining Curling Canada, Henderson was the senior vice-president of marketing and revenue for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games organizing committee where she helped the Games set attendance, ticket sales and television ratings records. Earlier in her career, Henderson held progressive roles in marketing and branding with Whirlpool Corporation, Colgate Palmolive Canada, Campbell Soup Canada and General Mills Canada.

A leader in the greater sport community, holding a number of positions that advance sport in general, Henderson attained a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from Western University, an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Toronto.

In 2022, she received an International Olympic Committee Diploma for her achievements to attain gender equity in sport. She also delivered to the curling community, Changing the Face of Curling, an International Symposium in partnership with two universities and Curling Canada’s leadership to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“Our search committee was comprised of stakeholder representatives including athletes, Members, partners and the Hockey Canada Foundation, and we are appreciative of the time that everyone devoted to the recruitment process,” said Jonathan Goldbloom, who chaired the search committee. “We thank them for undertaking such an important task that will shape the future of Hockey Canada and hockey in Canada.”

Henderson will begin her role with Hockey Canada on Sept. 4 and will be participating at the Beyond the Boards Summit later that week. She will be based in Toronto, Ont.

Information about media availability will be shared at a later date.

For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.