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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-12, Page 18leisure, features and enter nment Crossroads Wednesday, December 12, 1984 Serving over 24,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest, Milverton, Ariss, Arthur, Drayton,. Harriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, Wellesley and West Montrose. Girls just wcinta' have by Shawn Denstedt When the Milverton ladies' hockey team first took to the ice in 1976, the game of hockey was a man's world; now, eight years later, all that is starting to change and it's not a momemt too soon, according to team organizers. In the team's fledgling season back in 1976, Milverton played against just three opponents, and two of those were Midget -aged teams. In the eighth season since their debut, Milverton has changed leagues and saw that league grow from six teams to 16 with still. more entries clamouring for admittance. While the obvious rise in popularity of women's hockey is heartening to the • few players and organizers left from the initial team in 1976, they still don't think women's hockey is getting the recognition it deserves. "I don't think women's sports get the recognition men's do," says Barb Matheson, who, along with her husband Calvin, sponsors the team, now known as the Milverton Cal's Gals (for their sponso). Mrs. Matheson believes the Minor Hockey system should be expanded to accommodate the younger girls, needed to ensure the survival of the older teams. "There is no way to start in this league without having playedbefore," she says. Milverton is currently in the "D -C" division of the Southern Ontario Ladies' Hockey League, a league that had to divide this season because of the growing numbex of teams. Milverton entered the Intermediate -age league in 1977. At that' time o.nly .six teams competed in the league; there were 16 teams in the league when officials decided to split the league up, mainly, because of travelling distances. Under the new set-up, Milverton plays against New Hamburg, St. George, Tavistock, Kitchener, St. Marys., Ayr and Brantford. When Milverton started operations in 1976 the team was comprised largely of ballplayers from the Milverton Suns senior ladies' team. As top „athletes, they were interested in keeping in shape over the winter months. Their interest and the interest of Mr. Matheson in women's hockey soon came together and the Milverton Mathesons came into existence. The interestof the Mathesons in women's hockey comes naturally, after all, their daughter Jodie played hockey .for seven years in Monkton with boys' teams, up until she was PeeWee age. "Jodie was very interested in playing hockey," Mr. Matheson says and his GIRLS JUST WANTA' HAVE FUN—Betty Lichty, a rookie with the Ca/'s Gals this year isn't stretching, she's ham- ming it up for the camera. Manager Mark, Matheson says the main purpose of the team is to have fun and that is one thing they do. wife Barb adds that the interest in the Milverton ballplayers, and the fact that Jodie was finished playing with the boys' teams after PeeWee, happened at the same time. When the Mathesons agreed to sponsor the team in 1976, they may or may not have realized what, exactly, they were getting. into; one thing is certain, however, they don't have any regrets. "We enjoy watching the girls play hockey .and following the team," Mr. Matheson says. The team regularly competes in the Wallaceburg and Brampton tournaments and has also competed in the Huntsville tournament. After eight years, Barb and Cal have also become close to the players, and •.treat them as part of the family. The Mathesons regularly hold parties for the girls at Christmas and the end of the year and their door is always open to the members of the team. The team has achieved financial stability during its eight-year tenure, and according to .Cal, are largely self- supporting. Only uniforms and sweaters need to be supplied by the sponsors. While the Mathesons don't have any regrets, there is one thing they would like to see the team do, and that is win its own tournament. The Cal's Gals host an annual tour- nament the first weekend of December and have yet to win the "A" Cham- pionship, they won the "B" Cham- pionship two years ago. Changes Like any team,. the Cal's Gals have undergone many changes since 1976, one of y_viiich. was the name change. OrietThangt,, however,which the team has not made, is its goal of having fun at hockey and placing winning secondary. Milverton's manager, Mark Math- eson, is quick to say that the main part of the game is to have fun, "That's the way the atmosphere is on this tea," he adds. "If you don't have fun then you're not going to play," he says. While having fun is important, it is sometimes difficult to have fun when you are not winning, and the Cal's Gals roller -coaster history is presently in a valley. Two years ago most of the teams' best players left. Some retired, but many simply were tired of the lengthy drive to Milverton and opted to play closer to where they lived. The growth of women's hockey, in that respect, was not a benefit to Milverton. As a result the team was rebuilt, using almost exclusively local players from Milverton and Atwood, but to make a winning team out of players who have had no formal ice -hockey training takes time — and patience. The team had a bad season last year and has won only one game se far this season in nine tries. Losing can be discouraging, especially to those players who have been there from the beginning. The problem brings up the whole question of why their isn't a minor hockey system strictly for girls. Cer- ' tainly ice time in local arenas is already under great pressure, but members on the Cal's Gals think it is the girls who suffer from that strain because they are largely denied access to ice -time for hockey. Cindy Tanner, an original member of the Cal's Gals eight years ago, tried to start a teamfor young players several years back. While she was successful in securing one hour of ice -time a week, the only time slots she had a choice of were 6:00 a.m. or 10 p.m. on weekdays. Although she had "10 or 12" girls interested in playing, • the tine slots proved impossible to co-ordinate. This year the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) has guaranteed that girls can play on teams with boys up until PeeWee, but not on all-star teams. The ruling, while being a step in the right direction, does not necessarily benefit women's hockey directly. Many girls who want to play hockey simply don't, because they are in- timidated by playing with the boys. The answer is, apparently, all -girls' teams in all -girls' systems. The Sarnia Starfires, one of the most competitive teams in Women's Intermediate Hockey today has the backing of an all -girls system that boasts seven teams. The Cal's Gals organizers agree that may be the only answer. "There is not enough funding," Barb GETTING READY—Milverton Cal's , Gals Captain, Jodie Matheson, ties her skates in preparation for a game in the team's tournament'. Jodie has twice been named the Most Valuable Player in the SOLHL, CLEARS THE PUCK—Cindy "Huffy" Fanner clears the puck from in front of her net during a game against the Huron Park Pacers at the Cal's Gals annual tournament earlier this month. In the Milverton net is goaltender Donne Perry. Matheson points out as one of the fundamental stumbling blocks to the improvement of women's hockey. However, she is uncertain were the solutions can be found. "I don't have any suggestions; maybe we should go to the (national and provincial) governments or our local government." Manager Mark Matheson says perhaps this January will show how much interest there is in women's hockey. For one week in January there will be ice -time available to get girls playing from other centres, and Mark hopes to see many interested girls take ad- vantage of the program which will be advertised. Original Player One of those players who went the route of playing with the boys was the Mathesons' daughter Jodie. She played for seven years with boys' teams in Monkton, and was considered one of their best players. "I went to one of Hoss's (Jodie's brother Jeff) games and I thought I'd like to try it," she said. At that time Jodie was the only girl playing hockey in any of the systems, in the area. Her presence on the ice was often a novelty, but her ability soon dispelled, wry; doubts about women's future in hockey. "I think anyone can play hockey; it's not a man's sport," she says with finality. Today there are a number of girls who have taken advantage of the CAHA's new ruling, but not many. While all of the Cal's Gals players and organizers agree that hockey should be more readily accessible to women, they are also among the first to admit there are obvious differences between men's and women's hockey. "Men's hockey is a lot faster and I think women don't take the game as seriously," Jodie says. "We like to have fun at it." She also admits that trying to keep a team going in a small town is much harder than keeping a team going in the city, and she cites the example of Sarnia's minor girls' system. Jodie also claims she got the best coaching when she played with the boys' teams in Monkton, intimating that perhaps coaches are more in- terested in boys' teams than girls'. Jodie's concern over women's (and girls') right to have access to hockey, stems from her own experience. As a player, she was denied the right to play in the Goderich ,tournament because she was a girl. "They wouldn't let .me play in the Goderich tournament and I cried for days. I think that (discrimination) is wrong," Jodie says. Jodie says any interested players should "take the bull by the horns", just like she did. She suggests girls in- terested in playing come out to prac- tices with the Cal's Gals and•see if they want to play hockey. Cal's Gals' Coach Doug Egerdee has had the unenviable task of trying to mold the newcomers into a winning team. Dealing with players avho haven't played the game before has not been easy. "I want to get the girls playing as a team, but they haven't had the training," he says. The Milverton Cal's Gals have come a long way in trying to promote women's hockey in the area in eight years. In doing so, however, they have sacrificed a winning team to a building team. Yet, the direction they have de- cided to take, while sometimes discour- aging, seems almost certain to pay off in the future. With all the discussion about women's role in hockey and the unfair way the system presently runs, Milverton Manager Mark Matheson and Coach Doug Egerdee can agree on only one thing that distinguishes women's hockey from men's: "You can't go in the dressing room before the game." That may not have any bearing on whether or not women's hockey gets the recognition it deserves, but it is a relevant consideration.