Canadian women's ice hockey history

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The first instances of organized women's ice hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it was played at the university level. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891.^{[citation needed]} In 1920, Lady Meredith, an avid sportswoman and wife of Sir Vincent Meredith of Montreal donated the Lady Meredith Cup^[1] to the Quebec Ladies' Hockey Association, said to be the first women's ice hockey trophy created for a competition in Canada. At the time women competed in ankle-length skirts.

In February 1921, a women's North American championship series was played in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.^{[citation needed]} The Vancouver Amazons from the 1920s became one of the first professional teams. They were the first women's hockey team from Vancouver to participate in the invitational women's hockey tournament sponsored by the Banff Winter Carnival. On December 16, 1922, a meeting was held to announce the formation of the Ladies Ontario Hockey Association. The Dominion Women's Amateur Hockey Association was founded in winter 1933. Lady Bessborough, the wife of Governor General of Canada Lord Bessborough donated a championship trophy.

In 1978, Cookie Cartwright organized the Ontario Women's Hockey Association to generate interest in women's ice hockey. Fran Rider became the executive director. Cartwright solicited help from several experienced hockey people including Rhonda Leeman Taylor, Bev Mallory, Carl Noble, and later on, Frank Champion Demers. Rhonda Leeman Taylor became the first Development Coordinator for the women's game in the province. Coaches^[who?] were quoted in the Toronto Star that Rhonda may bring the women's game into respectability.^{[citation needed]}

The Abby Hoffman Cup was introduced in 1982 at the first Canadian National Women's Hockey Championship known as the "Shopper's Drug Mart Women's Nationals". In 1982, the first Esso Women's Nationals occurred in Brantford, Ontario, Canada under the guidance of Rhonda Leeman Taylor,^[2] who after went on to become the first woman to sit on Hockey Canada's board of directors. The final saw Alberta and Ontario face-off, with attendance of approximately 1,600 fans.

Leeman Taylor was the first individual to take women's hockey into the Corporate Board Room of Canada. For the first Nationals she was able to seek National Sponsorship from Shoppers Drug Mart and Air Canada. Also in 1982, she lobbied several Provinces to eliminate intentional checking from the women's game. All Provinces voted for the rule change except for one province. In addition, she founded and directed the Female Council, a subsect of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, representing female hockey in Canada.^[3]

In April 1987, Toronto, Ontario hosted the first ever Women's World Championship, though the tournament was not recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Ontario Women's Hockey Association hosted the tournament. During the tournament, representatives from participating nations met to establish a strategy to lobby the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for the creation of a Women's World Championship.^[4] The first IIHF-sanctioned tournament was held in Ottawa, Ontario in 1990. Women's hockey was included in the Olympics for the first time in 1998.