![]() “Many women see it as another avenue to get their athletic kick. “With the growth of girls’ hockey and the college game, women have more opportunities to be exposed to hockey,” said Susan Welles, Women’s Hockey Director for Minnesota Hockey and a former president of WHAM. And the Minnesota Whitecaps, a professional team in the Western Women’s Hockey League, plays in arenas around the state from September to March. The University of Minnesota, which plays in Ridder Arena, the only facility built specifically for a women’s collegiate hockey program, is one of five Division I women’s hockey teams in the state. It now boasts more than 1,300 players who play in seven divisions. The Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota (WHAM), the largest women’s-only adult hockey league association in the United States, has seen its membership double in the last five years. In Minnesota alone, the 200 high schools and 23 colleges that play girls’ and women’s hockey would add another 5,000 players to that total. Last year, that number reached almost 60,000 - a number that doesn’t include girls and women playing for high school and college teams, who are not required to register with USA Hockey. In 1990, when the first IIHF Women’s World Ice Hockey Championship was held, there were about 6,000 women registered as playing hockey in the United States. Today a group of women dressed in hockey gear is no longer cause for quizzical looks. While Ligman said the opposing men’s teams were good natured about their unexpected foes “once they got over the initial surprise,” her story is indicative of how far women’s hockey has come in 30 years. “We’d show up and start putting our gear on and invariably a guy from the other team would come up to us and ask, ‘What are you doing here?’” ![]() “And we called our team ‘die Mädchen,’ which is the German word for ‘the girls.’” “When we turned in our roster, we used only our first initials and last names,” said Ligman, 53, who now lives in Roseville. When Patt Ligman and several of her female friends at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls signed up to play intramural hockey at the school in 1975, they weren’t sure how they would be received - or if they’d even be allowed to play. Visit for more information, including contacts for questions. Teams play a home and away schedule beginning in late October and continuing through mid-March. The majority of teams are based in the Twin Cities Metro area, but others come from as far away as Duluth. ![]() Teams are located throughout the state of Minnesota. ![]() Details about skills assessments are available on the WHAM Web site: Where is WHAM Hockey Played? Players new to WHAM may need to attend a skills assessment to determine their appropriate skill level. Teams are classified according to their overall skill level, into one of seven different leagues, which range from Division 1 college-skilled players (A1) to truly beginning skaters (C3). The Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota (WHAM) encourages girls and women of all age groups and skill levels to compete. ![]()
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