CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada will once again team up with the International Ice Hockey Federation and fellow member nations for World Girls’ Hockey Weekend, taking place Friday, Oct. 11 through Monday, Oct. 14 in rinks around the globe. Now in its third season, the IIHF has developed World Girls’ Hockey Weekend to help grow the women’s game at all levels, and in all participating countries.

In Canada, this year’s event includes the new Long Game Initiative, which features four of the longest-running female games ever running from the east to west coast. In total, 1,584 players on 88 teams will play in 44 games across the country, which will run continuously at the Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget levels. The first puck drop is set for 7 a.m. NT in Mount Pearl, N.L., and the final face-off is at 4 p.m. PT in Parksville, B.C. There will also be 264 officials running the games, with countless other coaches and volunteers involved across the country. For the full Long Game Initiative schedule, including times and locations in your area, please CLICK HERE. The Long Game Initiative score will be cumulative across the country. Get game updates all day at www.hockeycanada.ca/wghw.

“World Girls’ Hockey Weekend continues to get bigger and better every year, and we’re incredibly excited to incorporate the first-ever female long game into this year’s festivities,” said Hockey Canada’s female council chair Joanne Hughes. “From the east coast to the west coast, girls and women of all ages will be lacing up their skates and picking up their sticks this weekend to have fun and help the female game continue to grow both in our own country and around the world.”

In arenas across the country, World Girls’ Hockey Weekend is a great way to introduce girls and women to the game in a positive, safe and supportive environment. Additional activities hosted by female and minor hockey associations include Esso Fun Days, skills sessions, coaching clinics, officiating clinics, and information sessions, bring-a-friend days and many other fun ways to get out onto the ice, and into the great Canadian game. For a full list of World Girls’ Hockey Weekend activities across the country or to register an activity in your community with Hockey Canada, please CLICK HERE. For more information on the International Ice Hockey Federation’s initiatives for World Girls’ Hockey Weekend, please CLICK HERE.

Hockey Canada is proud to be a World Girls’ Hockey Weekend leader. For more information on female hockey across Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/femalehockey. Follow Canada’s National Women’s Team on its Road to Sochi 2014 by visiting www.hockeycanada.ca/nwt, www.facebook.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_women.