A local author is shining a spotlight on women in hockey and the challenges they’ve faced over the years.
Ian Kennedy recently released his second book, “Ice in their Veins: Women’s Relentless Pursuit of the Puck” published by Tidewater Press.
He says sports is a reflection of society, and he’s glad to have been able to bring awareness to female athletes who have been erased from history or not given the accolades they deserve.
“There’s been a lot that has held back the game for many years, whether it’s access to ice time, rules banning women and girls from teams, the court battles they had to face, or even the simple thing of not having equipment that fit women’s and girls’ bodies,” Kennedy says. “One of the first companies to do that was Louisville in Wallaceburg, to create women-specific hockey equipment.”
Kennedy says especially having a young daughter of his own, writing “Ice in their Veins” allows him the opportunity to educate people and possibly break gender stereotypes.
“To see so many stories of girls that are not much older than my own daughter dropping out of sports because of some of these barriers, it’s really heartbreaking. Sports should be something that’s fun for all of us, to have that ripped away because of your gender is unfortunate and sad and something we still need to do a lot of work against to keep more young girls in sports longer.”
“Ice in their Veins” touches on the story of Wallaceburg’s Marian Covney, who became the first ever captain of the Canadian women’s national team, winning gold at the 1987 World Women’s Hockey Tournament. Despite her local prominence, being inducted into the Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame, Kennedy says she has largely been forgotten on the national and international stage.
Other local connections include the Lipstick Tournament, founded in 1968 and went on to become one of the first and longest running women’s tournaments in North America.
Kennedy will be holding a book signing event at Turns and Tales on King Street West in Chatham this Saturday, November 30 from 2-4pm. He says it’s an opportunity for people to get a copy of the book and celebrate anyone who sees their own story in his writing.
