The Esso Fun Day held Saturday, July 9 at the Chilton Regional Arena, where participants got to find out just what women's hockey is all about, was "a great success, with quite a few girls trying hockey for the first time, and great support from parent coaches and the older minor hockey players," said Organizer Lisa Brown.
"Overall there were 28 participants, split into two age groups, and nine older female hockey players that volunteered to help out."
The Esso Fun Day featured 1.5 hours of on-ice instruction, 1 hour of off-ice team-building games, a barbecue lunch, and Esso Fun Day hockey jerseys were handed out.
"There was great parent support for the coaching and with the barbecue lunch, and the rink staff were excellent as always," said Brown, adding that based on the participant and parent survey forms that were filled out afterwards, the day "could not have been any better. Much appreciation was expressed for the opportunity, the excellent coaching, and the mentorship of the older Tri-Port Wild players. We're very proud of how the older players supported and encouraged the younger ones, and I think that played a big part in the new players now wanting to join hockey themselves."
One of the team building exercises asked the participants, aged 10-13 years, to identify what they liked about being part of a hockey team, and according to Brown the three top things listed were "positive vibes, change room bonding and teamwork," which is a "good reminder of what's important when it comes to being part of a team, and why a female hockey option is so essential for many of these girls."