The debate over a possible Vancouver Canucks training facility addition at Britannia rink has largely centered on one question: if the team would only use the building on weekday mornings, when minor hockey isn’t on the ice during school hours, what’s the issue?
The answer, as Sand Northrup sees it, is that Britannia is far more than a minor hockey rink. The building serves a wide mix of community users, from parent-and-tot skates in the morning to drop-in hockey at lunchtime, along with women’s hockey and other groups.
That women’s program is where Northrup says the conversation has been missing something important. After reading the concerns raised by Vancouver Minor Hockey president Levi Higgs about the shortage of ice in the city and the need for more sheets to create more opportunities for youth players, she sent a note about the women’s community hockey program she has played in at Britannia for three decades. Today, it is known as the Women and Gender Diverse Hockey League.
“It is interesting to me in all the media coverage about the potential Canucks takeover that there is no mention of the unique, historic and community supported women’s hockey program,” she told me, quite rightly. “Britannia is the only city rink that offers such a thing and it has done so for more than three decades.”
Northrup, a retired circus performer and children’s entertainer, grew up in Quebec skating on outdoor rinks. She started out on hand-me-down figure skates and spent time in goal for her brother before finally putting on proper hockey skates in her 30s. Her first real game came in 1997, and it happened at Britannia.
That experience turned into something lasting because of the affordability of the program there. She and her teammates have since played in the B.C. Seniors’ Games for the past decade, helping launch the 55-plus, 60-plus and, this year, 65-plus categories.
“Britannia women’s hockey is unique in that it caters to players of any level of experience and is especially welcoming of new players wishing to get into the game,” she went on. “The culture at Brit is conducive to inclusive and safe hockey - the unofficial rule is that more experienced players let newbies carry or pass the puck rather than swooping and taking it off them, as is desirable in competitive hockey. It is not unusual to hear someone from the opposite team yelling ‘keep going, you have room’ or ‘take a shot’ while the defence backs up to leave them room.”
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