'Panther Day'; St. Thomas celebrates growing girls hockey association
It’s a celebration of girls hockey.
The St. Thomas Panthers organization held ‘Panther Day’ focusing on recognizing IIAF World Girls Hockey weekend.
“We are just bringing all of our teams and our entire association together and they're all playing a game against an opponent while they're here,” said Quinn Sciberras, Panthers vice-president.
“I think we have 15 teams, all in the same place, all in the same day”
In Canada, new data is not available to showcase how many girls hockey players there are now, but it’s booming especially with the creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
“We are just so excited to be celebrating and supporting just young females in our community through camaraderie, good sportsmanship and coming together to go above and beyond like they do for their teams, in their community,” said Emily Robertson, Panthers coordinator of special events.
‘Panther Day’ celebrates girls hockey in St. Thomas, Ont., October 5, 2024 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
On Saturday morning, they had a group called the “Fundies” who were taking in their first day of hockey. They had jerseys and tickets, and were excited for their first day of hockey on the ice.
The day began with them, and wrapped up with the 18U group playing at 4 p.m.
“I love watching how much we’ve grown as a community, and how we all get together as a team,” said Payton Eldred, a member of the 18U team.
“Our organization has grown so much, so it just shows how much our the girls are really into it,” said Lizzy Ayres, Eldred’s teammate.
“The dressing room is great, and it feels like a whole another family.”
The Panthers estimate 400 girls will come through the doors of the Joe Thornton Community Centre Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
'The Woodstock of our generation': Taylor Swift photographer credits email to her connection with the superstar
Taylor Swift has millions of fans worldwide, but Brampton, Ont.'s Jasmeet Sidhu has gotten closer to the musical icon than most.
opinion Why the new U.S. administration won't have much time for us
In a column for CTVNews.ca, former Conservative Party political advisor and strategist Rudy Husny says that when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the G-20 summit next week, it will look more like his goodbye tour.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.
This Canadian airline will adopt Apple's new AirTag feature to help recover lost baggage. Here's how
Apple announced that a new feature, 'Share Item Location,' will help users locate and recover misplaced items by sharing an AirTag location with third parties including airlines.
What makes walking so great for your health and what else you need to do
Medical experts agree that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, bolster fitness and prevent disease. While it’s not the only sort of exercise people should do, it’s a great first step toward a healthy life.
More than $400 million pledged by nine foundations to help solve climate change in Canada
A group of families and foundations from across Canada have pledged more than $400 million over the next decade to help solve climate change.
India's 'most wanted terrorist' arrested on gun charges in Canada
One of India's most wanted terrorists has been arrested and charged in connection with a recent alleged shooting in Ontario.