Women's ice hockey in Australia
Women's ice hockey in Australia | |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
National team(s) | Australia |
Nickname(s) | Mighty Jills |
In 1940, a study of 314 women in New Zealand and Australia was done. Most of the women in the study were middle class, conservative, Protestant and white. The study found that 183 participated in sport. The twenty-fourth most popular sport that these women participated in was ice hockey, with one woman having played the sport. The sport was tied with baseball and bowls.[1]
In 1983, the Australian Ice Hockey League dealt with the issue of Karen Sommerville trying to compete in a men's ice hockey league by amending the organisation's constitution to prohibit mixed gendered competitions. The organisation cited a need to protect women from harm, and stated that their decision "has nothing to do with sexism or discrimination".[2]
In 1984, 98% of registered Australian ice hockey players were men: Only 2%, 60 total, were female.[3] During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, women's ice hockey saw a large expansion in the number of competitors.[4]
The Australian women's national ice hockey team represents
History
The Adelaide Glaciarium (also known as Ice Palace Skating Rink) was the first indoor ice skating facility built in Australia. Opened in 1904, this is the birthplace for ice skating in Australia and is the location of the first hockey on the ice match in the country, which was an adaptation of roller polo for the ice using ice skates. Contemporary ice hockey was never played at this venue but this ice skating rink, the country's first, provided the "test bed" facility for its successor the Melbourne Glaciarium, the birthplace of ice hockey in Australia.
In 2000 Australia first competed in the qualification tournament held for the right to participate in the 2001 Division I championships. Australia lost all three of their group matches and finished seventh out of eight after beating South Africa in the seventh place game.[7] The following year Australia again played in the qualification tournament in order to be promoted to Division I for the 2003 championships. Australia finished third in the group of five which saw Slovakia promoted to Division I for 2003.[7]
In 2003 the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) introduced a new format for the World Championships with the inclusion of second and third division. Australia was placed in the third division and gained promotion to the 2004 Division II tournament after winning four of their five games and finishing on top of the standings. The 2004 World Championships saw Australia relegated along with Great Britain from Division II to Division III for the 2005 tournament.[7]
At the 2005 World Championships Australia competed in Division III and narrowly avoided relegation to Division IV after finishing fifth out of six teams, beating only South Africa.[7] The next World Championship in 2007, Australia improved, again gaining promotion to Division II for the next years tournament.[8] Promotion to Division II however was again short as Australia finished last in the 2007 tournament and were relegated back to Division III.[9] Australia ice hockey team has never qualified for an Olympic tournament.
Women's ice hockey today
The Australian Ice Hockey Federation, currently trading as Ice Hockey Australia (IHA), is the official national governing body of ice hockey in Australia and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was first established in 1908, making it one of the oldest national ice hockey associations in the world.
The
Teams
There are Currently 4 teams in the AWIHL, representing the Australian cities Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.
Team | City/Area | Arena | Coordinates | Founded | Joined | Former Name | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Women's Ice Hockey League | |||||||||
Melbourne Ice
|
VIC
|
O'Brien Group Arena
|
37°48′45″S 144°56′08″E / 37.8124°S 144.9356°E | 2006 | Melbourne Dragons (2006-2010)
| ||||
Adelaide Adrenaline
|
Adelaide, SA | Ice Arena (Adelaide) | 34°55′11″S 138°34′43″E / 34.919653°S 138.578596°E | 2006 | Adelaide Assassins (2006-2010)
| ||||
Brisbane Goannas | Brisbane, QLD | Ice World Boondall | 27°20′25″S 153°03′30″E / 27.340352°S 153.05831°E | 2006 | |||||
Sydney Sirens | Sydney, NSW | Sydney Ice Arena | 33°43′56″S 150°57′42″E / 33.732162°S 150.961799°E | 2006 | North Star Sirens (2011-2013)
|
It is anticipated that the league will grow to five or six teams in the future. It has been speculated that New Zealand may join the league in the upcoming years.[10][11]
Team history
Adelaide Adrenaline
Starting their time in the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League as the
Brisbane Goannas
Queensland is represented by the Brisbane Goannas in the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League.
Melbourne Ice
Sydney Sirens
The
Perth Inferno
Perth Inferno entered the league as an expansion team in the 2018-2019 season. The team was originally founded around the state team for WA in 2016. Perth has made every Finals weekend since their entrance to the league
Formation of Under 18's team
The Australia women's national under-18 ice hockey team was formed in 2012 in order to qualify and compete in the
In January 2016 the team will debut at the
References
- ^ Stell 1991, p. 75
- ^ Stell 1991, p. 255
- ISBN 0-644-03667-2.
- ^ Stell 1991, p. 252
- ^ "Australia". Iihf.com. 1938-02-11. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
- ^ "Australia". Iihf.com. 1938-02-11. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
- ^ ISBN 3-8334-4189-5.
- ^ "2007 IIHF World Womens Championship Div III". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "2008 IIHF World Women's Championship Div. II". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "AWIHL | Australian Women's Ice Hockey League". Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
- ^ "The League". Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "National U18 Women's Program Media Release" (PDF). Ice Hockey Australia. 2013-02-21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
- ^ a b c "2013 New Zealand Women's Under 18 Development Team". New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. 2013-12-12. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
- ^ a b c "Australia U18 Women win the International Series". Ice Hockey News Australia. 2014-12-18. Archived from the original on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ a b "Australian U18 Women lose opener of 2015 Denmark Tour". Ice Hockey News Australia. 2015-08-02. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ^ "Denmark defeats Australian U18 Women in second game of Denmark Tour". Ice Hockey News Australia. 2015-08-03. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ "Katowice confirmed as host". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2015-09-24. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
Bibliography
- Stell, Marion K. (1991). Half the Race, A history of Australian women in sport. North Ryde, Australia: ISBN 0-207-16971-3.