It’s a mild evening in late March, I walk into the Lunenburg War Memorial Arena with my brand new hockey stick, and my bag of borrowed hockey gloves, skates, a helmet and some rainbow hockey tape. I was nervous — questions ran through my mind: “Is everyone going to be more advanced than me? Do I know the rules of the game if we end up playing? Is the rainbow hockey tape too much?”
I walked into the locker room to discover a room of smiling, welcoming people including 3 others with rainbow-taped sticks, which immediately relieved most of my worries. We hobbled out to the freshly-cleared ice and started to warm up. The driving force behind this new initiative, Amanda Williams, dumped out a bag of pucks and we all started practicing stick handling, passing, and shooting. Eventually we organized ourselves and did some drills, then divided ourselves and played a joyful, laughter-filled 3-on-3 game. I caught up with Amanda after the game to ask her about how this new league came together.
ES: Why did you want to start South Shore Queer Hockey?
AW: I started South Shore Queer Hockey after seeing a number of other Pride Hockey organizations on social media and found the community spirit inspiring. I am also a big fan of the Professional Women’s Hockey League! Much of my motivation to start this is grounded in being a big believer that rural areas should have access to the same things that more densely populated areas have on a scale that suits the community. The lack of queer sports teams and associations on the South Shore felt like a gap that needed to be filled.
ES: How did the planning come together?
AW: The planning process was a bit of a wild ride. I never played hockey before, I actually grew up on a tropical island… I was able to reach out to the Halifax Mussels for advice, which was amazing. From there I was able to book the ice time, advertise and very quickly learn how many pucks are needed for a practice. I have the practical administrative skills, even if I don’t have a deep knowledge of the game. I am lucky to be able to lean on the experience of those who have played but don’t have the time to run a team.
ES: How did the first meetup go?
AW: The first meetup was joyful. We had seven participants come out with a big range of experience between all of us. I fell over almost immediately, but had such a good experience with being able to learn to play in a low pressure environment. It’s not something I would have had the opportunity to do otherwise. We spent most of the time laughing. I scored a goal on my girlfriend, too.
ES: What’s in the works for the future of the league?
AW: The future is bright! We are planning for a more formal Learn To Play program in July. One of the things I have heard the most is that people are interested in participating but they don’t know how to play. We are applying for grants to make sure that cost isn’t a barrier for what can be a very expensive sport.
The next ice time for South Shore Queer Hockey is April 25 at 8pm at the LCLC. Follow @southshorequeerhockey on Instagram or email southshorequeerhockey@gmail.com to get involved!
