Meet Claire Palmer. Growing up in Aurora, Claire was someone who made sport a key part of her regular routine. As a youngster, her first sport was figure skating. The Aurora Skating Club was her second family and the Aurora Family Leisure Complex her second home. 

As she grew into a young teenager, her love of being on the ice shifted to playing minor hockey with the Central York Girls Hockey Association (CYGHA). As a long-time passionate Maple Leafs hockey fan, Claire paired her many years of watching NHL hockey with her family along with her strong skating skills and never looked back. 

With her passion for hockey well established, it seemed like a natural progression that Claire would gravitate to the summer sport of field lacrosse.  And indeed once introduced, Claire was hooked and jumped deep into the sport. 

While limited playing opportunities for her age group in York Region initially meant driving to Scarborough to play with the Toronto Stars (later the Toronto Beaches), she would later move closer to home as the Newmarket Redbirds launched their Lady Redbird program and as Claire moved into the older player age groups. 

Her love and game sense for field lacrosse would help Claire land a position on the Western Mustangs women's field lacrosse team and enjoy a successful five-year university playing career. 

Claire's sense of confidence, desire to give back, and appreciation for the efforts of others was nurtured by her family and those who supported her. She became involved as a volunteer for the CanSkate Learn-to-Skate program, the CYGHA's FUNdamentals learn-to-play program, and later as a lacrosse coach for both the Lady Redbirds and the University of Toronto’s Women’s Field Lacrosse team. In Claire’s mind, involvement in local sport as both a participant and a leader was critical to helping her appreciate the value of hard work. It also enabled her to see other girls like herself experience how much fun sports can be and to see their own self-confidence blossom.

(Photo courtesy of Claire Palmer)

Now a resident of the Town of Golden in British Columbia and the current editor of the Town’s local paper The Golden Star, Claire’s sports journey continues to shape both her professional coverage of the local sports scene and her own sport participation and it comes through in her deep desire to create meaningful and lasting community connections for herself and others around her. 

Meet the Golden Girls - A chance to build community connections through ice hockey

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