***Article Update March 23, 2021.  It is with great sadness that we share that Tracy Kitchen lost her battle with cancer on July 23, 2020.  Tracy lived her life with purpose and passion and always brought her amazing strength, determination and immense sense of possibility to her various roles as coach, referee, player, community builder and changemaker.  Tracy's legacy will carry on in the hearts and minds of the many she touched while with us.  Our sincere condolences to Tracy's wife Andee, her family, friends and to her extended Whitby Fire Ball Hockey family.  Tracy's obituary was lovingly written by her close friend Danielle Close and published on the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF) website and in Durham Region News.***

 

"Tracy was a player, coach, mentor, referee, a friend, and someone who put her all in everything she did. When she saw a need or had an idea there was no stopping this fierce, driven lady from achieving what she sets out to accomplish. Tracy was true to herself and who she was and believed in those around her. She took teams of players, turned them into champions, made them believe in themselves, and more importantly had them play for the name on the front of the jersey before they played for the name on the back". 

 

 

It's Thursday night just before 5pm at Whitby's McKinney Arena. Lots of little girls are hustling in with their hockey sticks in hand and bags filled with their ball hockey equipment. They're ready to get to their weekly thirty-minute Learn to Play Ball Hockey session that's just about to start.  From there, these young girls will join the rest of the League's players who will also arrive at McKinney Arena to play their weekly scheduled league game. 

This is how every Thursday night from late April to the end of June has begun this year, the inaugural year, for the Whitby Fire Girls Ball Hockey (WFGBH).  A league created because of the fire that was in the belly of one woman - Tracy Kitchen - who saw the need for an all-female ball hockey league to serve Whitby and the many towns and hamlets that surround this bedroom community located east of Toronto.  With the help of the Town of Whitby and the support of her partner Andee Kitchen and close friend Danielle Close who both shared her passion for creating a new league, the Whitby Fire Girls Ball Hockey league became a reality.

 

A passion for the game

For Tracy Kitchen, the sport of ball hockey has been a fixture in her life since the age of ten.  Over the years, her involvement in hockey grew from player, to coach, referee and volunteer extraordinaire.  Her dream of creating an all-female ball league in her own community came after she had just lead a team of U20 girls to gold at the International Ball Hockey Championships in Slovakia in 2018.  Tracy's competitive experiences at all levels of the game helped her see the need to create a league where girls could feel comfortable playing at any level of play, be confident in the skills they had and have the chance to develop a love for ball hockey.  And, maybe even one day, get the chance to stand for their own national anthem at the international level.

 

 

Fun facts behind the WFGBH League's 2019 inaugural success

• Total Number of Registered Players - 320
• Total Number of Teams - 20

Novice/Atom Division - 4 teams 

Peewee/Bantam Division - 6 teams

Intermediate/Competitive Division - 4 teams

Recreational Division - 6 teams 

• Total Number of Provincial Level Teams - 5 (U12, U14, U16/18, Women's A/B, Masters)

Provincial team players were chosen by individual coaches and were scouted throughout the season during league play.  Team coaches were also able to provide feedback to the league executive.  Each provincial team ran their own practices as well as exhibition games against other league teams and teams from other Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF) leagues.

• 10 players from the WFGBH are playing on the Ontario Team White in the U20 OBHF National Tournament July 24th-28th in Vancouver, British Columbia.  The team's head coach, assistant coach, and general manager also hail from the WFGBH.

Head to U20 Ontario Team White competes at the 2019 OBHF Nationals in Vancouver to hear all about the team's success at this year's National Championships.

• The league's schedule included 11 weeks of league play and then one week of playoffs.
• All teams in the league had a coach or team representative (Women's Recreational Division) assigned to them.  Coaches were players and/or parents of players from the league.
• Players from the older divisions were given the opportunity to referee and timekeep for the younger age divisions.

 

 

WFGBH Athlete Gallery  

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