It shouldn’t be surprising anymore, but somehow it is. Every four years, the Winter Olympics bring a world stage for women’s hockey, and a chance for the athletes who compete in this sport to show the world just how good their game is. And every four years, someone (thankfully fewer people each time), raises the same old, tired argument that women’s hockey doesn’t belong in the Olympics.
Once again, women’s hockey has to defend itself, and athletes who dedicate their lives to the stated Olympic ideals find themselves defending their pursuit of excellence.
The defense isn’t particularly hard to raise anymore. The stats are available to anyone who cares to look for them. From the International Ice Hockey Federation website: Between 2007 (nine years after women’s hockey made its Olympic debut) and 2018 the number of registered female players worldwide grew from 153,665 to 205,674. Women’s hockey is on the rise in almost every part of the world, and there are teams in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and Latin America.
Canada won six out of seven of the first men’s Olympic hockey tournaments. The scores in the gold medal games in the first three? 12-1, 6-1, 13-0. Between 1956 and 1988, Russia won the men’s Olympic gold medal seven times, only losing twice. The men’s World Juniors annually bring blowouts in the early round games before the competition tightens in the medal round. Oh, and the complaint that only two countries have ever won the women’s Olympic hockey tournament? Since 2002, only three countries have won men’s Olympic hockey gold.
If you look at other sports, Korea has won nine out of the last 10 Olympic gold medals in women’s archery. Entering the 2020 Olympics, China had won 28 of 32 Olympic gold medals awarded in table tennis. In basketball, the United States has won 15 of 19 gold medals on the men’s side and eight of 11 on the women’s side (in fact, the American women have won their last 50 Olympic Games and counting). Dominance is a part of sport.
The IIHF canceled the women’s Under-18 World Championships in both 2021 and 2022, citing the pandemic — although the men’s World Junior tournament was played in 2021 and was canceled midtournament in 2022 due to COVID outbreaks. This was a devastating blow to the growth of women’s hockey in Europe and Asia and to the development of athletes who will eventually play on senior national teams.
Even the top teams need to fight for support. The US women’s team threatened to boycott the 2017 World Championships to get better pay and better commitment to the growth of women’s hockey from USA Hockey. They earned a fairer contract and are the defending Olympic gold medalists. Sweden’s women’s team went on strike in 2019 to get better pay, insurance and training facilities from their federation. In many cases, the bare minimum has been the norm.
It’s easy to look at a couple of preliminary scores (including one unexpected blowout) and take cheap shots at women’s hockey. But the game continues to grow and improve. Denmark just won its first game at the Olympics. Switzerland stunned Finland. College and university hockey in the US and Canada is attracting players from all over the world, and the quality of hockey is at an all-time high. A viable professional league is no longer a dream, but an achievable goal.
Hockey federations should be encouraged to fund their women’s and grassroots programs. The Olympics is the biggest stage for women’s hockey. Eliminating women’s hockey from the Olympics would do the opposite of encouraging investment in the development of national women’s hockey programs. It’s time to start asking governing bodies why they aren’t funding their teams, rather than looking to punish those that do.
Women’s hockey has spent the last 24 years proving it belongs in the Olympics. Nobody should have to think that their livelihood will be jeopardized because they are too good.
Does women’s hockey belong in the Olympics? Ofcourse. The better question is why this is still a conversation, 25 years later.