Women’s hockey player reflects on local impacts of professional women’s league
Courtenay Whalers goalie Meghann Moore (right) and daughter Hailey Moore (left) at Vancouver PWHL game Wednesday. Photo: Meghann Moore
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL)’s Takeover Tour came to BC on Wednesday with a game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver; the game excited anticipation among local hockey players for the Courtenay Whalers Women’s Hockey team.
Local player Meghann Moore, who plays goalie for the Courtenay Whalers, spoke with CHLY and CVOX in anticipation of the game earlier this week. Moore says the impact of the PWHL goes beyond description.
“It's hard to really put into words,” Moore says. “For me it's just that community feeling and excitement and the potential growth that is there.”
Moore started playing young herself.
“I've been playing since I was about five years old. My brother's about two years older than me, and [my parents] were struggling to keep me off the ice while my brother was playing practices. So, they signed me up with a learn to skate program when I was three,” Moore remembers.
Fast forward to present day, and this is Moore’s first season back with the Courtenay Whalers after some time spent in Ottawa.
“ This would be about my fifth or sixth season with the Courtney Whalers,” she says.
Moore says the team is made up of a diverse group of women, ranging in age and experience.
“I believe this year one of our youngest players is 22. And we go all the way up to, I believe we have someone who's registered with us that's over 60,” Moore says. “So we do have quite a range of ages. And it's great to see so many different skill levels there.”
Moore says that as well as a roster of full- and part-time players, in past years the team have been able to host drop-ins for women with no experience to lace up their skates and give it a go.
“ We had some very dedicated ladies who took care of organizing referees, scheduling ice times, and talking within the island community organizing games with different teams between Victoria all the way up to Port Hardy,” Moore says.
One big tournament in Victoria, the Pacific Cup, happens the third week of January. Moore says this year the Whalers weren’t able to register in time, so are now on the waitlist.
“You can see that there's definitely demand for women's hockey on the island,” she says.
And the demand isn’t all new; Moore spoke to the history of women’s hockey in the valley.
“The Courtney Whalers team, it's been going on for probably close to 20 years or more now,” Moore says. “There [were] a bunch of women who were playing for one team and they decided that there was enough space for a second team. So they broke away and just organized their own team.”
The Whalers regularly meet with the other women’s team in the Valley, local rivals the Comox Valley Breakers.
“There's also the Comox Breakers here in the Comox Valley,” Moore explains. “And we'll get together and scramble up teams and play together, just to sort of ease the traveling a little bit because we do have to travel a fair bit for hockey. So it's nice to sort of play within town and have some fun together with the other team.”
Moore says as soon as the PWHL Takeover game was announced, she did what she could to get a group of players together to go.
“As soon as they announced the Vancouver game, I'm like, I need tickets. I gotta go. And just [try] to get more people to join me,” Moore says.
Moore was a season ticket holder for PWHL Ottawa last year, and says the biggest impact was the community.
“ Yeah, for me it's the sense of community. The hockey community itself is small,” she says.
Moore says that being part of that community means you are connected to the people making these big steps forward for the game.
“ Obviously, with the amount of hockey that I've played,” she says, “I've got some different connections and talking to them and just seeing that sense of community and understanding how hard everybody's pushed for this; they fought against the inequities, from the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s and just seeing where the sport is going and how it continues to grow.”
Moore says that the impact on young female players is major.
“And now we have all these younger girls who are so excited,” Moore says. “They have some place to look forward to, to play in their older years. For me it wasn't there, and I think back to the Ottawa Home Opener last year, where somebody was holding up a sign that said ‘if I had known this was an option, I would have trained harder.’”
According to Moore, this league opens up doors for girls to go further.
“ Now that there's an end game for women in hockey, [and] there is definitely, I think people are going to be more eager to push themselves harder and not hesitate to play more competitively and just continue to grow their own game.” Moore says. “And from that, when they see [these] women they are role models to follow, you know, it's an opportunity to picture themselves in a similar role.”
Moore says it is important to keep that momentum, and support it locally.
“I think the biggest thing is just continuing to grow the sport at a youth level, [and] providing opportunities,” she says.
The biggest barriers, according to Moore, are access to ice time and the cost of equipment.
“You know, my hope is that people can start applying for grants through different organizations that are also realizing that women's sport is here to stay,” Moore says.
Moore says the community needs more than passion, with hard work too.
“To get excited is one thing, but there's also some work that needs to be done,” she says, “so that we can provide more opportunities for young girls to try.”
Hockey has been a lifetime passion for Moore, and she wants that opportunity for other girls and women.
“ I've played my entire life,” Moore reflects, “I've been told that girls don't play hockey, and even my grandmother said, ‘you can't put Meghann in to play hockey. That's a boys’ sport.’ And my mom says ‘I can't keep her off the ice either.’ So just showing the naysayers and just keep[ing] on pushing.”
Moore talks about the inspiration she gets from watching women older than her continue to play.
“I've got a couple more years before I'm that age, but just seeing them play and knowing that I want to stay active into my later years and stuff like that,” Moore shares.
Moore says there is a senior women’s hockey league for players who are 55+, with three teams on the island alone.
“Just seeing them and knowing that I want to be there keeps me pushing to play,” she says.
For more information on how to get involved with the Courtenay Whalers, Moore says to check their Facebook group.
“We want to grow the sport,” Moore says, “we want to provide more opportunities for women to continue playing hockey, into their 60s and 70s. The more people we can get out, the better!”
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada. Reporting done in the Comox Valley is done in partnership with CVOX.