Eleven-year-old persuades city that girls’ hockey deserves display

Danika Glenn started the campaign and she was determined to finish it.

On Wednesday night, the 11-year-old was present when an agreement was hammered out that will see the Goulbourn Girls Hockey Association get its own trophy case at the Goulbourn Recreation Complex.

In fact, the city will pay for the case at a cost of about $900, said Coun. Shad Qadri.

“Danika showed huge initiative on this,” said hockey association president Cathy Bureau. “When you have an 11-year-old fighting for a cause, it’s hard to resist it.”

Glenn’s quest started last year at a hockey banquet, when she spoke to Qadri about getting a separate trophy case at the Goulbourn Recreation Complex for girls’ hockey. Glenn, who plays on the Goulbourn Rockets competitive peewee C team, contended that trophy cases for boys’ teams were often in prominent locations at other arenas and the girls deserved the same opportunity to show off their successes.

“It taught me how to tell people what I wanted, but not in a rude way. In a polite and formal way,” said Glenn, who was not expecting the city to pay for the case.

“She feels like she made a change,” said Glenn’s mother, Agnes Rubaj. “I see it as a little win for girls.”

Qadri said Glenn has his thanks for bringing the issue to his attention. “I thought the original arrangement of sharing the case was satisfactory. But obviously not.”