Hockey Canada summit to tackle sexism, gender-based violence, homophobia, transphobia

You can play the game hard and also be respectful of differences is the message Normand Hector wants to send at Hockey Canada's second Beyond The Boards summit.

Hector is Thursday's keynote speaker kicking off a two-day summit in Ottawa about unhealthy outcomes in hockey culture.

Hector is a gay, Black man from Saint John, N.B., whose drag persona "Normani" performed at the 2022 Memorial Cup and at a Pride Night hosted by the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's Saint John Sea Dogs earlier that season.

Hockey New Brunswick also recruited Hector three years ago to speak to players, coaches and families about how to create a respectful hockey culture. Hector does not lead those seminars in his drag persona.

"I come from a very diverse background," Hector said. "I'm very blessed and very fortunate to have this opportunity to educate, but also try to change mindsets of people within a sport that have never had somebody like me in front of them.

"It's important that my story, along with other disruptors within the sports arena, and I say disruptors in a positive way, their voice is heard.

"I really want my message to be what I've been discovering while I'm in the weeds, while I'm out there with the players, the coaches and the families. I want to share the powerful stories from the players, coaches and families that are helping shape hockey today."

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Evolution of sport depends on culture shift

The first Hockey Canada summit in Calgary in September 2023 tackled toxic masculinity in elite men's hockey.

Hockey Canada came under pressure to change the sport's culture in the wake of allegations of sexual assault by members of the national junior men's hockey team at a