Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance

August 31 Update

The Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance is now set up with a website to direct you to more information. Please visit femalehockeyalliance.ca for more information regarding their brand, registration process and informaiton about tryouts, evaluations and coaches. Continue to watch this page often for more updates regarding female hockey programming in Edmonton.

All female teams, U7 through U18, will migrate to the Female Hockey Alliance for the 2024/2025 season. The FHA will host one U9, one U11 and all U13 teams (including U13AA) for the 2023/2024 season. 

Questions about the FHA can be directed to registrarefha@hockeyedmonton.ca.

June 28 Update

The Female Hockey Alliance (FHA) has now opened registration for the 2023/2024 season. All U13 players (both community and elite) will register with FHA for this upcoming season. For players who intend to try out with FHA for the U9 and U11 Tier 1 teams, please ensure you register with both EGHA and FHA. More details about the FHA registration can be found at hockeyedmonton.ca. 

May 31 Update

As the Female Hockey Alliance (FHA) works to get set up in the Hockey Canada Registry (HCR), they are asking all U13 players to complete the Intent to Register with FHA, which will allow the FHA to work on transferring U13 players from EGHA (or other associations) to FHA, which is a necessary step for the registration process. Registration is expected to open closer to June 15 as they work on getting FHA set up in HCR to accept registrations. U9 and U11 players who are registered with EGHA (or another association) and also plan to register for the Tier 1 FHA tryouts at U9 and U11 may also complete the Intent to Register with FHA. This will allow FHA to start getting HCR files for these players shared with them, a necessary step for the registration and tryout process.

Questions about the registration process for FHA can be sent to registrarefha@hockeyedmonton.ca

May 23 Update

Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance (EFHA) will be hosting ID skates on May 28th for the U9 and U11 Tier 1 teams.

• U9 Tier 1 - 1:45pm-2:45pm, Castledowns Arena, May 28th
• U11 Tier 1 - 3:00pm-4:00pm, Castledowns Arena, May 28th

To register for the ID skates, please complete the registration form. Questions about the ID skates can be directed to office@hockeyedmonton.ca.

May 17 Update

At the virtual Townhall for the Female Alliance, it was noted that a U13AA Summer Development Camp would be available for players interested in trying out for those two teams this coming season. 

The Camp is open to players born in 2011 and 2012 and runs from June 7 to August 17 and includes two off-ice and one on-ice session per week. Cost is $695 and you can find more details and a schedule in the attached document. This document and the registration link will all be available on the Hockey Edmonton website:

https://www.hockeyedmonton.ca/content/edmonton-female-hockey-alliance-efha

Registration will be available starting TODAY (Wednesday May 17, 2023) at 1pm.

Questions can be directed to registrarefha@hockeyedmonton.ca

May 8 Update

May 3 Town Hall:

On May 3, the Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance (EFHA) hosted a town hall to share information about the upcoming season. The presentation can be found at EFHA Town Hall. 

This town hall presentation has important information about the upcoming season, including information on development plans and registration fees (dates are yet to be determined for registration to open).

Volunteers:

EFHA is currently looking for volunteers. To volunteer, please submit the Volunteer Application. Questions about volunteer positions can be sent to chairfemalehc@hockeyedmonton.ca and registrarefha@hockeyedmonton.ca.

• elite category directors (U13AA, U11 Tier 1, U9 Tier 1)
• U13 community director
• coach selection committee (community hockey)
• evaluations chair / committee members
• development 
• governance committee (to create the new female hockey association)
• equipment coordinator

Coaching:

• Apply to coach U13 community, U11 tier 1 or U9 tier 1
• View the required coach credentials and how to submit a coaching application for U13AA

Questions about coaching positions can be sent to chairfemalehc@hockeyedmonton.ca and registrarefha@hockeyedmonton.ca

March 25 Update

Please visit the Hockey Edmonton website for important links to:

• register for the virtual town hall, April 12 at 6:30pm May 3 at 6:30 pm (updated date and time)
• complete a short EFHA survey
• register to attend an introductory skate for U13AA, U9 top tier, U11 top tier and U13 community hockey

EGHA has also created a FAQ to help guide you with some questions you may have. We will continue to update this FAQ as more information becomes available. 

Please reach out to Stephanie Murphy (stephanie.murphy@egha.ab.ca) and/or April MacKinnon (president@egha.ab.ca) if you have any questions.

March 23 Update

Please watch the Hockey Edmonton website starting Friday, March 24 regarding the Female Hockey Alliance initiative. There will also be an announcement made regarding this initiative at 4:30pm on Friday, March 24 at Bill Hunter Arena, prior to the U18AAA provincial game.

March 19, 2023 Communication

Female Hockey Alliance and the Future of Female Hockey in Edmonton

Female hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in Alberta. There are over 8,000 female participants in hockey in this province. As all of us know at EGHA, female hockey is exciting, competitive and a great way for our children to be active, make friends and learn many skills such as leadership, teamwork, hard work and resilience.

Edmonton Girls Hockey Association started as a small association in 1993 with an early focus on the need for all female hockey teams. EGHA offered a place for all girls to play. Players of all skill levels have progressed through EGHA. We’ve had the opportunity to host elite teams (Thunder and Lightning); teams from U7 all the way to U18; a new recreation team formed two seasons ago, and a partnership with the Edmonton Wolves team. Most importantly, through our work with the Edmonton Federation Hockey League (EFHL), we have worked with other associations to ensure that other female teams, such as Wetaskiwin and Fort Saskatchewan, have a place to play. EGHA has been a leader in growing female hockey in the Edmonton area for many years.

As female hockey continues to grow, Hockey Edmonton is finally giving the attention needed to the female game that the EGHA executive has been fighting for over the past 7 years or more. In December, Hockey Edmonton formed the Female Hockey Committee (FHC). The FHC was mandated to review the structure of female hockey in Edmonton and make recommendations about how to advance at this critical time. Not only has EGHA faced competition against other associations creating female teams within Edmonton, but the Hockey Super League has also become one of our biggest competitors.

The FHC has recommended that the best way forward for female hockey in Edmonton is to combine all female teams into one association, which for now we will refer to as the Female Hockey Alliance Initiative. This is a similar structure to Girls Hockey Calgary. The transition into one association will take place over the next two seasons.

In the upcoming 2023-2024 season, we will see the first transition of teams. All U13 teams will move to this new alliance, including 2 new U13AA teams in Edmonton. Also for this upcoming season, this new alliance will also host 1 - U9 tier 1 team and 1 - U11 HADP team. All other teams will stay with EGHA (or their other associations) for this upcoming season. The plan is to then shift the remaining teams over to this new alliance in the 2024-2025 season (note that if required, this transition may flow into the 2025-2026 season).

The new teams under the EFHA will be branded as such:

• Edmonton Ice (elite teams)
• Edmonton Storm (community teams)
• Edmonton Flurries (U7 teams)

How will this affect your daughter’s 2023/24 registration?

• All U13 players, including those who wish to tryout for the U13AA teams, will register with the FHC
• U9 players can register to tryout with FHC for the U9 Tier 1; all other U9 players will register with EGHA for the season
• U11 players can register to tryout with FHC for the U11 HADP; all other U11 players will register with EGHA for the season
• U15 and U18 players will register with Edmonton Female Athletic Club (EFAC) for tryouts for the 2 - U15AA teams and 1 - U18AA team. All other players will register with EGHA for the season

Further information will follow next week about skates associated with the new Female Hockey Alliance initiative. A google form will also be shared (when available) to gather input and expressions of interest. A virtual town hall will also be scheduled with date and time to be shared as soon as confirmed. 

We will also continue to update our website as information becomes available. You may also view the FHC Presentation shared with stakeholders on March 16.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to stephanie.murphy@egha.ab.ca or myself at president@egha.ab.ca. 

Thank you,

April MacKinnon

President, Edmonton Girls Hockey Association

Please note: there will continue to be updates regarding these changes to all EGHA families. If you prefer to not receive these communications, please unsubscribe from the emails that are sent by EGHA.