Cyclones highlight fun and future opportunities for female hockey

By Lethbridge Herald on September 25, 2024.

Submitted photo Players from the U18AA Southern Express helped at a U9 Cyclones practice.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge Cyclones female hockey  program continues to promote fun and show young players what opportunities there are as they navigate through the system.

The main objective in the Cyclones program is to have fun, while there are competitive streams that they want to offer with the Southern Express programs and tier 1 teams, and if players are wanting to just come out and join with friends, there are the tier 2 options.

“We want to have something for everyone,” said Angie Forsyth, Lethbridge Minor Hockey Association’s female governor.

“We want everyone to have fun where they’re at  (and) who they’re playing with.”

The Cyclones have U18 AA Southern Express players attend practices in help promote female players in hockey.

“So that’s good for the younger girls,” said Forsyth.

“They can see what they can do when they’re older. It’s also great for the U18 girls to kind of give back to the ages that they were.”

Forsyth sees having the Express as being imperative.

“You need to be able to have that stepping stone and girls that aspire to play … Usports later, they need to have that stepping stone,” said Forsyth.

The Cyclones try to be active as possible on social media to promote the game to female players.

“We do try to stay active on the Cyclones Facebook page,” said Forsyth.

“We try to get out there (in the) community and be visible and let girls know that we’re here.”

Lethbridge also hosts come try-it events in the spring, skill sessions and summer camps and female prep camps.

“We’ve got lots of skill levels which is great, so we’re able to offer competitive hockey and recreational hockey,” said Forsyth, on season preparation.

The Cyclones’ numbers are up this year.

“We’ve got a lot more in the older ages,” said Forsyth.

Girls tend to switch over to female hockey at the U15 level when checking comes in at mainstream hockey.

“We see a lot (of) girls coming in from outlying communities at that point,” said Forsyth.

The Cyclones will have three levels at the U15 and U18 levels with AA, tier 1 and tier 2.

League play starts in October.