Hockey Night in Canada rink side reporter and Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell is returning to P.E.I.

Campbell, who will be in the province covering the Esso national women’s hockey championships, will be guest speaker at the first Women in Sport dinner co-hosted by Holland College and UPEI athletics on Thursday, March 13.

She will talk about her international athletic achievement and entry, as a female, into the world of sports media.

Campbell, who has strong family ties to P.E.I. and is a regular visitor to the province, is looking forward to bringing her message to Islanders.

“I spent a lot of time on the Island as a young girl, and I participated in many sport camps and of course the Campbell picnics every summer for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I consider the Island home for many reasons and it is a thrill for me to come back and speak to the youth who no doubt will make a difference in this community through sport.”
Campbell also attended the 2005 spring training camp held by the national women’s hockey program in Charlottetown in preparation for the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.

At age five, Campbell laced up her first pair of skates. As the former captain of Canada’s national women’s hockey team, she participated in three Winter Olympic Games, seven International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championships, nine Four Nations Cups and the Torino Ice Tournament. Her teams have won 21 medals in total, including 17 gold and four silvers.

Campbell joined Hockey Night in Canada as a rink-side reporter after retiring from professional hockey in August 2006. On Oct., she became the first woman to do colour commentary on a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

Campbell holds an honours sociology degree from the University of Guelph, and runs an annual street hockey tournament that raises more than $200,000 a year for Ronald McDonald House.

Earlier this year, she was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and in 2007 she was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

The Women in Sport dinner includes a three-course meal at the Culinary Institute of Canada with a reception at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

Funds raised will help support female programs at both Holland College and UPEI.
For more information or tickets contact Lynn Boudreau at 566-0991 or [email protected], or Nadine Stavert at 566-9677 or e-mail [email protected].