Team flies south to compete in girls hockey tournament

Perhaps it was a longshot wish.

But for Mikki Adams, a coach of an Inuit girls hockey team from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, a request she initiated ended up with a considerably different outcome thanks in large part to arguably the best women’s hockey player in the world.

Earlier this year Adams sent an email to Hayley Wickenheiser asking the Canadian hockey star to come to Nunavut this November to run a hockey school for Adams’ team members.

Wickenheiser’s schedule did not allow her to travel north, but she didn’t ignore the request. Instead, she contacted officials from one of her sponsors, Canadian Tire, and got them to cover all of the expenses of having the Rankin Inlet squad travel to Calgary to participate in a girls tournament named in Wickenheiser’s honour.

The Nunavut squad competed in the Canadian Tire Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival. The event, which is more commonly called WickFest, ran Nov. 27-30.

The festival, which began in 2010, was held in Burnaby, B.C., during its first three years. For the past two years it has been staged in Calgary, Wickenheiser’s current hometown.

Adams was ecstatic when she heard the news her team, the Rankin Inlet Rock, would be competing in WickFest for free.

“My reaction was filled with amazement, awe, gratefulness, excitement and happy all at once,” she said. “I even cried with joy as the expense to send a team down south or even out of our town is very, very high.”

Airfare costs alone were estimated at around $40,000. And accommodation was expected to cost as much as $4,000.

Canadian Tire also picked up the tab for all meal expenses for the squad.

The team had 14 players, two coaches and four chaperones travel to WickFest. The Rock, which features players ranging in age from 11-17, competed in a Midget category.

Adams was hoping for a Top 3 finish in her club’s division, which featured five entrants.

Wickenheiser, whose resume includes five Olympic medals (four gold and one silver), said she approached Canadian Tire officials about sponsoring the team’s trip after she was contacted by Adams.

“Right away they thought it was a great idea,” said Wickenheiser, who has had Canadian Tire as her personal sponsor for the past four years.

Wickenheiser is thrilled a deal was worked out to enable the Rock to travel to Calgary.

“It’s just really satisfying (being able to help out),” she said.

Wickenheiser didn’t hesitate to offer support to the Nunavut squad.

“I have a soft spot for the northern communities,” she said. “I understand the north. Both my mom and dad taught in Yellowknife.”

WickFest, which attracted 82 teams this year including three from Mexico, is much more than an average tournament.

It also includes skill development camps, geared to those female players, whose teams are not competing in the tournament.

Various clinics and workshops as well as a Wickenheiser autograph session were also held.

Photo caption: The Rankin Inlet Rock, a team of 11-17 year old hockey girls, went to WickFest courtesy of the generosity of the hockey tournament’s name sponsor and Canadian multi-gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser.