by Morinville News Staff
With many female players playing within Sturgeon Hockey Club (SHC) and in St. Albert, the association has developed a Female Hockey Program in Sturgeon County.
“We have created the program as a way to increase visibility of our female players, encourage former SHC players to return to our association and recruit new players to the game,” said SHC President John Schneider in a media release Monday.
The association’s Board of Executives has appointed Janice Kluss as the Female Hockey Operations Director. Kluss will lead the Female Hockey Operations Committee, overseeing the program made up of female hockey teams comprised of girls from Sturgeon and
surrounding areas.
Kluss has been with SHC for the past two seasons, serving on the Board and as the Equipment Director.
The new Female Hockey Operations Director has been involved with hockey since she began playing on the first female bantam team in Cape Breton at the age of 13. Kluss played for Team Nova Scotia in the 1995 Canada Winter Games. She played another four years in Vermont for Middlebury College, and still holds scoring records there.
“We want to see more girls getting involved in the sport,” Kluss said. “It’s important to get them to start playing and developing together at a younger age as it allows them more opportunities to play at higher levels and to continue playing in the future.”
Hockey Canada’s World Girls Hockey Weekend takes place Oct. 4 to 6. SHC will participate in the event to promote the newly developed program with an Oct. 4 event for female hockey players from the Sturgeon area.
Details will be provided over the next few weeks at www.sturgeonhockeyclub.com.
