Hockey Canada unveils blueprint to grow game for women and girls

Registration of female players, coaches and officials has increased, but the organization states that still represents less than 20 per cent of its programming.

"We don't want to just be content with 'our sport is growing and we're just going to continue as is,"' said three-time Olympic gold medal forward Gillian Apps, who chaired a subcommittee seeking to amplify and guide growth for women and girls.

"If we're going to do something big, if we want to be aspirational, where do we think we can push this to?"

Female hockey registration in Canada has risen year over year to 115,000 last season. Hockey Canada's goal is 170,000 by 2030.

"If we did nothing, we wouldn't be able to accommodate the growth," Hockey Canada board chair Jonathan Goldbloom said Saturday.

Apps, Goldbloom and Hockey Canada's women and girls vice-president Marin Hickox unveiled 14 recommendations at Rogers Place before Canada's women faced the United States in the fourth and final game of the Rivalry Series.

Included in the recommendations was each provincial and territorial association having a salaried employee devoted to women and girls hockey. About half of them do right now.

"What we're hoping is that we can get that to 100 per cent over the next three years to make sure that there is somebody . . . taking all the calls, that they're not having to be a doctor during the day and then be a volunteer administrator at night," Hickox said.

More equitable access to ice and facilities and helping girls and women start playing hockey regardless of age or ability was also in the blueprint entitled "Rise As One." Canada's players wore stickers on their helmets Saturday night bearing that slogan.

Apps, who works in Toronto in management consulting, says she