Another Successful IIHF World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend Celebrated in North America & Abroad
Aspiring young hockey players from around the world took to the ice the weekend of Oct. 17-19 to give hockey a try as part of International Ice Hockey Federation World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend. Over the years, thousands have participated in the event, which was created in 2011 and provides a global opportunity for interested girls to try the sport for the first time.
Some highlights of past events can be found by clicking these links from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011.
Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend grows annually and now has more than 30 countries participating across six continents. Try hockey events have been held in diverse locations such as Bayan, Kuwait; Minsk, Belarus; Muscat, Oman; Mexico City, Mexico; Nottingham, Great Britain; Hong Kong; Kish Island and Tehran, Iran; Sofia, Bulgaria; Novi Sad, Serbia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Hasselt, Belgium; Prague, Czechia; Suwon, Korea; Canillo, Andorra; Kazakhstan; Tallinn, Estonia; Milan and Bolzano, Italy; and Riga, Latvia.
At the pinnacle of the sport as the world’s fiercest rivals and highest-ranked women’s programs, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada also are active in promoting Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, with clubs and associations holding events all over North America.
USA Hockey also allows prospective event hosts to register on its Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend page and provides assistance, giveaways and other promotional items for facilities and organizations who want to hold Try Hockey for Free events. The governing body also provides customizable certificates of participation, promotional posters and informational flyers for Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend.
The organization encourages participants to engage on social media using the hashtags #GirlsHockey and #WGIHW. Attendees around the United States also are encouraged to post photos of their favorite players, photos of themselves playing hockey, their favorite U.S. Women’s National Team moments and to tag friends who don’t play, encouraging them to try hockey for free. Host facilities and organizations in the United States have used the weekend as an opportunity to hold season kick-off parties and “bring a friend to skate” sessions along with the Try Hockey for Free events.
Hockey Canada strives to “have events from coast to coast that recruit, retain and engage players, coaches, officials and fans – old and new,” according to its website. It “aims to celebrate and grow the game while uniting Canadians through grassroots programs led by girls’ hockey associations, minor hockey associations and communities.
Local Canadian hockey associations can apply to host an event through their provincial/territorial Member. Hockey Canada and its Members supply funding, gifting and additional support and resources to assist associations that want to participate.
The IIHF encourages those who can’t hold a Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend event during the dedicated weekend to use any weekend in October that works, and Hockey Canada encourages associations to choose the weekend in October or November that is best for a particular community and to use it to “kick-start their season.”
More than 50,000 Canadians have celebrated World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend since 2019, with more than 500 events being held across the country. Activities have included organized games, skills sessions, classroom activities and road hockey, allowing people of all age, skill and interest levels to participate.
CLICK HERE for a list of the World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend events that have and will be held in Canada during the 2025-26 season.
The timing for this year’s celebration was fitting, with the third Professional Women’s Hockey League season exactly one month away, the best players in the world scheduled to face-off at the Winter Olympics in February and participation in the sport continuing to grow globally. USA Hockey reported nearly 100,000 registered players in its girls and women’s programs for the 2024-25 season, an increase of better than 5 percent from the prior year. Hockey Canada has reported 30-percent growth since 2022 and all-time high retention rates. International participation has nearly doubled since 2007.
Interest in the sport among girls and women has soared in North America with the overwhelming success of the PWHL’s first two seasons. The league continues to shatter attendance records and already has expanded from four to six teams with the addition of franchises in Vancouver and Seattle for the 2025-26 campaign. For the first time, girls and women playing hockey have role models they can look up to who are playing in a financially viable North American women’s professional league and something to aspire to beyond youth and college hockey.
In hopes of continuing that pattern of growth, ice rinks around the world use World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend to provide opportunities for girls to try hockey for free at events featuring professional, college and international-level players and coaches along with local coaches, players and volunteers. The goals of these events are to allow prospective players to:
- be introduced to basic skills in hockey in a positive, fun and safe environment
- learn about ice hockey opportunities in their communities
- learn about fair play, sportsmanship, and teamwork
- meet new friends and have a chance to fall in love with a new sport
Any group that is passionate about sharing the sport of hockey with the next generation of potential girls’ and women’s hockey players is eligible to register and host events every year. Rinks, teams, clubs and associations can make the events as big or small as they want, with the driving force being to get kids on the ice for the first time in a fun, welcoming and non-threatening environment.
While many hosts have prior experience organizing similar events to promote hockey, the hope every year is that many rinks and organizations in less-traditional hockey markets will provide an opportunity for prospective future players to try the sport and eventually start their own full-season hockey programs. With that in mind, the IIHF supports hosts around the world by providing the following:
- Promotional posters in the host’s native language that can be added to other promotional materials and altered to include event-specific information
- A booklet that includes a sample practice plan with drill descriptions and suggestions on how to organize the time on the ice
- General event-planning advice for first-time hosts with information such as what to include on the participant registration form, ideas for off-ice activities, how to organize the participants into groups and more. An IIHF contact person is provided to all hosts who complete the WGIHW Host Registration form.
For anyone interested in hosting a future event for Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, all available resources are posted on the IIHF website each year.
Some of this year’s #WGIHW highlights via social media:
https://x.com/KrakenIceplex/status/1980405964202229974
https://x.com/SDHLse/status/1979167075240235135
https://x.com/FordIceCenter/status/1979321533429633096
https://x.com/PCAHAMain/status/1980017109179781529
https://x.com/usahockey/status/1980003841262387431
https://x.com/NJDevils/status/1980027628322230485
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP6z59dDtCq/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP9Jwl9DsB_/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP90-6ykiKL/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP92k_pDsTt/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP6pELnjwXz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP_bZBogvSx/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQAb1uOjTBg/
