FILE PHOTO
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers are introducing a women's club hockey team this fall for the first time in school history.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers have chucked their stick into the collegiate hockey game.
The Rattlers announced Tuesday they are debuting a women’s hockey team as a club program for the 2022-23 season.
Terry Ballard, manager of athletics and recreation at MHC, told the News they at the college are all excited for the hockey team and to see how much interest the club can garner.
“We’re trying to gauge the interest with Medicine Hat College female students in the community and we’re hoping to get a positive response,” Ballard said. “More or less, the attendance of the young females in the community and the school, will determine where the program might go in the future.”
The women’s hockey team won’t officially be a part of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference this fall, but are slated to host practices and exhibition games on a trial basis to see if a full-time team is feasible.
Ballard said they would need to see high enough participation numbers and a strong enough interest from those students a year or two away from going to post secondary.
“We’re also hoping to maybe entice the interests of a lot of Grade 11 students or some young women that haven’t decided whether to go to school yet or not and maybe this will make them come the following year,” Ballard said. “If we get a lot of interest by email or phone calls and participation rates, that’ll indicate to us that we’re on the right track and that we’re going to move forward with a little bit more of a permanent program. I’m looking forward to being out there in the public today, and looking forward to getting a lot of phone calls and emails.”
Ballard said the Rattlers had a men’s hockey program in the 80s that was active for four to five years, but was not sure why it folded.
There are still steps ahead for the Rattlers before they’ll have a team to ice in the fall. On top of building a roster, they will need to find a coaching staff, organize jerseys and equipment and find a place to play – all tasks Ballard said will be put into motion now that the news has been made public.
“We’re hoping the announcement will generate some interest from some folks that will bring us bring us some interest as well. But there’s been a couple folks that we’ve talked to, but nothing for sure to announce yet,” Ballard said regarding a head coach, a position he offered to fill if need be. “I’ve been a hockey coach all my life, I coached at NAIT for 15 years in the ACAC.”
Ballard said they are negotiating with the city on finding a time and place to hit the ice. He said the Rattlers have no problem with an early morning ice time but find the proposed late night availability difficult for young students.
“We’re still trying to work out the exact time but we will, and we don’t care what arena we play out of right now,” Ballard said. “We’re trying to get anywhere from eight to 12 games and we’ll play some boys teams in the community if we need to, which should be fun. We’re going to try to arrange some games with some of the local ACAC schools like SAIT, Red Deer, Olds and we’re comfortable traveling a few times as well.”
In a press release issued by the college Tuesday afternoon, female hockey players attending Medicine Hat College this fall are encouraged to connect with the athletics department for more information.
Ballard said they’ve been happy with the support they’ve received in getting the program running.
“We’re very happy with the support from senior executives and the board of governors working with us to test this project and this program to see where it might go,” Ballard said. “The other part is, we have had a lot of folks from the community always ask us, ‘Why do we not have hockey, and specifically women’s hockey?’ So hopefully, we’re delivering on that to the community and making some partnerships as well.”
