Girls of all ages are invited out to the Colorado Extreme ice rink east of Carbondale this Saturday, Oct. 17, for a free evening of skating as part of World Girls’ Hockey Weekend.
The free skating event begins at 5pm Saturday at the Colorado Extreme outdoor arena on Catherine Store Road. It will be followed by a pizza watch party, livestreaming one of the professional women’s hockey games that are on the slate for that evening.
“It’s a great opportunity to grab a friend and get on the ice with just girls,” said Maddy Moses, high performance coach for Colorado Extreme, a nonprofit organization that seeks to expand access to the sport of hockey in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“We have plenty of equipment at the rink for them to use, and it’s a fun way to try hockey for free, whether you’re an experienced skater or just trying it for the first time,” she said.
There won’t be any structured drills, but some of the Colorado Extreme age group team players will be on hand to give some pointers and provide support.
There’s no formal registration for the event; just show up, she said.
Moses came to the Roaring Fork Valley this past June, having grown up on the East Coast where girls-only hockey programs are common and playing the sport herself as a youth and at the collegiate level.
She spent the past few years in Colorado Springs, where most hockey programs are coed, same as they are for the most part in the Roaring Fork Valley.
She’d like to help change that, and provide more opportunities to grow the sport among female players so that they can have their own teams.
“The girls game has taken its time to move west, but we’re doing a good job of introducing girls to the sport through our Learn to Skate program,” Moses said.
While the official International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Girls’ Hockey Weekend is this weekend, local programs are encouraged to organize girls-only events anytime during October.
Colorado Extreme is implementing a Girls Club every other Saturday starting on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, including a morning learn-to-skate session just for girls.
That same day, the Glenwood Springs Youth Hockey Association is also hosting a girls only “Try Hockey for Free Day” from 10:45am to 12pm at the Glenwood Springs Ice Rink located at the Community Center.
“Anything in the community that can get girls out on the ice with each other is awesome,” Moses said.
World Girls’ Hockey Weekend began in 2011, with hockey communities worldwide using the same weekend to grow the girls’ game.
“Girls’ hockey is growing nationally, and this weekend is our push to grow it here at home — turning a girl’s curiosity into actual ice time,” added Carly Price, who is also associated with Colorado Extreme.