I’m happy to announce that I will be back in Burlington for a few days this coming week.  I’m one of the people behind a half-day symposium at UVM that is examining the role of women’s hockey in North America. This event is timed to coincide with the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships being held in Burlington from April 7-14th. Our goal is to bring together the worlds of hockey and academia for a conversation about how the game of hockey is changing thanks to the rapid growth of women’s hockey across North America.  If you get a chance, please come and join us for this event!

Face of the Game poster (final).pdf

PLEASE NOTE NEW LOCATION:

MEMORIAL LOUNGE, 338 WATERMAN BUILDING

(CORNER OF COLLEGE AND SOUTH PROSPECT STREET)

The Face of the Game:  Women’s Hockey in North America

A half-day symposium bringing together hockey scholars, writers, players, and fans in celebration of the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

Thursday, April 12, 20128:30 am – 12:00 pm

University of Vermont

Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building Room 338

“The Face of the Game: Women’s Hockey in North America” is a half-day symposium examining how women’s hockey is literally and figuratively changing the face of the game in North America. “The Face of the Game” will use a roundtable format, comprised of both academics and some of Canada’s finest hockey writers, to foster an engaging conversation about the role women’s hockey (and sport in general) plays in North American culture, particularly in how we understand and construct gender within sport. 
The first roundtable, comprised of both academics and some of Canada’s finest hockey writers, will examine the role of women’s hockey in literature and popular culture. The second panel will bring speakers from a variety of backgrounds to examine the past, present, and future of women’s hockey.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Dr. Angie Abdou, author of the bestselling sports novel The Bone Cage and an Instructor of sports literature. (College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC)

• Tim Bothwell played 500 games in the NHL, was an Assistant Coach for the Canadian Olympic Women’s Hockey Team in 2006, and the Head Coach of the UVM Women’s Hockey Team from 2006-12.

• Elizabeth Etue is the publisher of WINIH.com, co-author On the Edge, Women Making Hockey History and the author of Hayley Wickenheiser: Born to Play. She was the writer and associate producer of the CBC documentary Chasing the Dream and a columnist for The Hockey News from 2005-2008.

• Dr. Jeff Gerson, author of a recent study on women coaches in NCAA and Canadian University hockey. Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

• Richard Harrison, author of Hero of the Play, a best-selling collection of poems about hockey, and co-editor of Now Is the Season, a collection of essays on hockey. Associate Professor of English, Mount Royal University, Calgary.

• Cara Hedley, author of 20 Miles, a widely read and studied novel on women’s hockey. PhD student, University of Calgary.

• Meg Hewings, General Manager of the Stars de Montréal Women’s Hockey Team, journalist, and graduate student at McGill University.

• Dr. Andy Holman, editor of Canada’s Game: Hockey and Identity. Professor of History, Bridgewater State University.

• Dr. Paul Martin. Expert on hockey in Canadian literature. MacEwan University, Edmonton.

 

READING BY STEPHEN BRUNT AND RANDALL MAGGS

Author bios:

Stephen Brunt, a columnist at the Globe and Mail, is Canada’s premier sportswriter and commentator. About his most recent book, Gretzky’s Tears: Hockey, Canada, and the Day Everything Changed, the Montreal Gazette wrote “Long the consensus pick as Canada’s best sportswriter, Brunt has probably earned the right to be called one of our best writers, period.” His previous book, the #1 national bestselling Searching for Bobby Orr, was called “not only one of the best hockey books ever, but a book that transcends hockey” by the Edmonton Journal. Brunt is also the author of Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In; The Way it Looks from Here: Contemporary Canadian Writing on Sports; Mean Business: The Rise and Fall of Shawn O’Sullivan; Second to None: The Roberto Alomar Story and Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, and in Winterhouse Brook, Newfoundland.

Randall Maggs is the author of two collections, Timely Departures (1994) and Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems (2008) and co-editor of two anthologies pairing Newfoundland and Canadian poems with those of Ireland. Night Work won the Kobzar Literary Award, 2008 Winterset Award, the 2009 E.J. Pratt Poetry Award and was a Globe and Mail top 100 book of 2008. Maggs is artistic director of Newfoundland’s March Hare festival of music and literature and has just retired from teaching literature at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems is a hockey saga, wrapping the game’s story in the “intense, moody, contradictory” character of Terry Sawchuk, one of its greatest goalies. In compact, conversational poems that build into a narrative long poem, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems follows the tragic trajectory of the life and work of Terry Sawchuk, dark driven genius of a goalie who survived twenty tough seasons in an era of inadequate upper-body equipment and no player representation. The book is illustrated with photographs mirroring the text, depicting key moments in the career of Terry Sawchuk, his exploits and his agony.

As part of our aim to make our office’s Trans-Canada lounge a site where students, staff, and visitors can come to access all forms of Canadian culture, we’ve had Sirius satellite radio running in our office for the last 16 months. Sirius broadcasts about six different Canadian stations, including CBC Radio One, CBC Radio3, two Radio-Canada stations, and two other stations dedicated to Canadian music.

So, you can imagine my delight today when I found out even more great Canadian content on the way!

The CBC announced the launching of HNIC Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio Friday, bringing back the show’s radio roots which started 74 years ago.

HNIC Radio will air Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET beginning Oct. 1 on channel 122, and will be available to Sirius listeners throughout North America. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

“This is a wonderful extension of the Hockey Night in Canada brand,” said Scott Moore, executive director of CBC Sports.

“Hockey Night in Canada is the most powerful sports brand in the country, and we are thrilled to partner with Sirius Satellite Radio to provide Canadians with more of what they love throughout the week.”

Seasoned sports broadcaster Jeff Marek joins HNIC Radio as host, and will work alongside rotating co-hosts Kelly Hrudey, Elliotte Friedman and Scott Morrison.

The show will feature insight and analysis, keeping fans updated on all the breaking news and issues from the world of hockey.

HNIC analysts Craig Simpson and Greg Millen will also be regular contributors on the program, while Ron MacLean, Don Cherry, Jim Hughson and Bob Cole will appear throughout the season.

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