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2021 World Championships

Tourney is cancelled. There has to be a way to move it to the US. As restrictive as Canada has been, it was foolish not to move it to the US out of an abundance of caution months ago.
 
I am so sad, and mad. For the players more than anyone, but also selfishly for fans. This is probably a response based on emotion, but that’s what fandom is - it feels like everyone is getting to play but post graduate women’s hockey players. I am so frustrated. Cannot imagine how the players feel.
 
Timothy A said:
Tourney is cancelled. There has to be a way to move it to the US. As restrictive as Canada has been, it was foolish not to move it to the US out of an abundance of caution months ago.
Click to expand...

Yes. And typical Canada/IIHF boys U18 tourney happens, NHL happens but various Pw hubs are limited and women’s worlds cancelled. As usual various people have loopholes. Talked to someone yesterday that drove into Canada yesterday with no quarantine requirement. Nice.
 
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Very spinless and gutless decision - this needs to be moved out of Canada ASAP. There is a proven model on how to hold the tournament 'safely'. There is simply no will and as usual the women are thrown under the bus. If this was being held in Texas like the men's U18 is, there would be no issues. Same for Florida, South Dakota and probably 40 out of the 50 states. Instead, everyone gets to 'wait' until the summer to see if Canada can figure out a way to host. Sorry folks - had multiple opportunities to find a way to make it happen over the past 18 months and still can't do it because they don't give a rip.
 
Looks like there may be a glimmer of hope. Posted on a different site:

@seanshapiro

Have been told that DFW and the Stars are working on potentially hosting the women’s world championships that were supposed to be in Halifax but cancelled today. Multiple federations have encouraged plan of finding a fit in Texas like u-18 men’s tournament found in frisco/Plano
 
Hope you are right D2D. Visas seems like it would be complicated, but otherwise does not sound impossible.

The players are so professional and diplomatic. There have been very few reports beyond “devastated” which Donna Spencer reported.

Poulin’s last few years: 2018 Four Nations where Canada didn’t play great, injured for 2019 Clarkson Cup and Worlds, 2019 Four Nations cancelled, 19/20 no league, 2020 worlds cancelled, 20/21 still no league, 21 worlds postponed twice. Just hard to witness. Can’t imagine it on a player level.
 
If the games do get relocated to US soil perhaps the Canadian team should be excluded to make Canada feel the sting for screwing everything up? (I'm not serious but I do kind of feel that way!)
 
Buckeye your posts always make me laugh. :):-)

jill Saulnier wrote an eloquent post on Instagram that seems to capture the sentiment of the players. Alex Rigsby Cavallini is keeping it real in her Insta stories too. Good for them.
 
https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2021/04/22...mpression=true

Roundup by Marisa Ingemi of how players are feeling.

Other comments on social media:

“We are wrecked” - Kendall Coyne,

“Am I even a hockey player?” - Sarah Nurse

”It is very difficult for us women’s hockey players to be positive right now (lists all the cancellations) ...we are doing our best to keep inspiring the younger generation, to keep girls in sport longer...but at one point, we are going to need people to step up and join our fight.” Ann Renee Desbiens


Bad state of affairs. It is more than one tourney being cancelled. I understand why publicly Hockey Canada, USA Hockey and IIHF are being respectful to Nova Scotia’s decision.
Anyone know what the private reaction is? Are those bodies actually doing anything to get players on the ice playing a competitive game?


Canada has 47 players at their camp. Some have to go back to school but can the rest put on jerseys, gets some refs and some tv cameras and play a weekend series somewhere else in Canada? It’s crumbs but better than nothing, after a whole season of nothing. If there was ever a time to make a few Canadian PW events happen it’s now.
 
Emily Kaplan from ESPN:

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story...es-better-world-hockey-championships-canceled

Global news: Saulnier interview
https://www.google.com/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/7780514/saulnier-womens-worlds-cancellation/amp/


Sorry for such a depressing thread! these quotes from Coyne, Saulnier et al are just so revealing into how they feel, and they are hitting on the variety of issues ways in which this hurts.

Darren Dreger of TSN has reported that Finland, US and other cities in Canada have reached out about hosting. We’ll see what happens.

when they finally get this tourney played it will be the 20th iteration of the tourney. First was played back in 1990. Canada has 10 golds, and US 9.... can’t wait to watch when they finally get this thing going. One thing about women’s hockey, it will never go away, the passion and drive of the players, the joy at playing women’s hockey has literally been their since women played back in 1892 or whatever it was. I hope the players take all the time they need to process this hurt. For me, I am reminded to keep supporting this sport in the ways I can, and just keep cheering for them.
 
USA Hockey very quickly moved the U18 mens from Michigan to Texas to ensure it was going to happen. I don't know how things are going in Finland, but if the IIHF wants to guarantee this happens, move to a US state that is not in perpetual lock down mode. Aug 20-30th seems like the new target date.
 
Cornholio said:
USA Hockey very quickly moved the U18 mens from Michigan to Texas to ensure it was going to happen. I don't know how things are going in Finland, but if the IIHF wants to guarantee this happens, move to a US state that is not in perpetual lock down mode. Aug 20-30th seems like the new target date.
Click to expand...

How about "Move to a state that has coronavirus under control", rather than just a state that prefers not to acknowledge that it exists?
 
Not to turn this into a (yet another) covid thread, but most honest presentation of the data shows very little correlation to covid rates / cases vrs 'how hard' of a lockdown a state/area is in. Michigan right now has been one of the strictest lockdown states for the past year and currently has one of highest rates. California, another strict lock down has one of the lowest rates currently. New York, strict lockdown high rates. Texas, fully open with no mask mandate, lower rates. Etc. In short, this has become way too political with the 'science' being however the data can be constructed to fit ones plans. Back to the thread, women's hockey is just not that important enough to the 'health' officials in Nova Scotia to warrant the 'risk'. If this was a men's tournament it would be held (as proven with the U20 tournament back when rates were higher and no vax, etc.).
 
Despite rising cases there, still would have been safer there than most places. Especially given the bubble. Just no political will as Cornholio said. Political will or someone powerful who cares makes all the difference.

In the book “Offside” by Rhonda Leeman Taylor, Taylor explains that when she organized the 1982 National Women’s Tournament in Canada (it’s first ever), when she needed money and help she went to Maureen Clark, a women who had grown up playing girls hockey. . Clark was married to Joe Clark, then leader of the Federal opposition, and future brief prime minister. Anyway Maureen Clark wrote a letter to Abby Hoffman who was a director of Sport Canada at the time (first female to hold the role) asking for support for this tournament. Hoffman got on board and helped the tourney organizers get a grant from Sport Canada and even more important: sanctioning from CAHA (now Hockey Canada) that CAHA did not want to provide. With sanctioning and money they pulled off the tournament and it’s the sort of thing that helped hockey take a big stride towards getting that first ever IIHF Womens Worlds in 1990.

I believe Hockey Canada and IIHF weren’t the problem in this latest debacle, but when the event needed a Maureen Clark or an Abby Hoffman, in this go round the politician in question wasn’t going to go to bat for them and here we are. The scarcity of powerful people who will step up for Canada’s women is a huge huge problem for elite women’s hockey in Canada right now imo. Even if we give NS a pass, if you pan out as Jenner said, where was the support for the PW all year? Why didn’t the women play. It has to be so concerning for the women’s side of Hockey Canada.
 
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