The World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend is a massive weekend in the world ice hockey calendar.
In an initiate led by the sport’s governing body, the IIHF, thousands of girls take to the ice and this year 30 countries took part across the world.
The World Girls’ Ice Hockey weekend provides an opportunity for females to try the fundamental skills in ice hockey; skating, puck control, passing and shooting, before putting them to the test in a mini game.
Events took place in the UK in Nottingham, Whitley Bay, Sheffield and Belfast.
In Nottingham on Friday 6th October, over 20 girls were on the ice with the Nottingham Vipers, giving ice hockey a go with smiles on their faces.
Saturday was a busy day with a session at Whitley Bay Ice Rink with Whitley Squaws and Whitley Bay Junior Ice Hockey Club. Once again, over 20 girls came onto the ice taking part in an ice hockey taster session.
Later in the day there was a free ice skating session with the Sheffield Shadows at Ice Sheffield and there was also a taster session in Belfast.
Organiser, Ryan Rathbone, said: “The World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend is a great opportunity for clubs to promote themselves locally.
“It provides girls an opportunity to try the sport for free which removes one our biggest barriers.
“The sessions are delivered in a fun way providing all the girls the opportunity to succeed and leave feeling confident.
“It was great to have some new clubs involved with the initiative this year and hopefully we can continue to grow and run more events across the country.”
Next year’s event takes place on 6th and 7th October 2018.