$1M Secret sponsorship keeps pro dreams alive

Women’s association continues its pursuit of a CWHL replacement

Surviving the pandemic has been harder for women’s pro sports than men’s because of the financial gap between the two. Women’s hockey in Canada was already in transition before the pandemic threatened to halt its progress.

The Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association will continue its pursuit of a pro league this winter with a sponsorship of $1 million from the deodorant company Secret.

The PWHPA and the company say it is the largest corporate commitment ever made in North American professional women’s hockey.

“It gives our players a lot of confidence that we are moving forward,” said Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford, the PWHPA’s operations consultant. “It allows us to continue the planning process, and that’s crucial during these times.”

Roughly180 players, including Canadian and American national team members, formed the association in the wake of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folding in 2019. Their goal is a league that pays them enough to be full-time professional players with the same competitive, medical and insurance supports that male pros get.

The players refuse to join the U.S.-based NWHL, which has expanded into Canada with the Toronto Six. The league’s sixth season is scheduled to start in January.

“NWHL is primarily funded by investors and to a lesser degree sponsorships, whereas the PWHPA is solely dependent on sponsorship,” Hefford said. “Based on all publicly available information, Secret is the largest sponsorship in women’s hockey in North America.”

The company was a sponsor of the association’s inaugural Dream Gap Tour last winter. Players participated in a series of showcase tournaments and exhibition games in both Canada and the United States to promote the game and their aims. Players weren’t paid, but expenses were covered.

The sponsorship means players will be paid prize money in the next Dream Gap Tour starting in early 2021, Hefford said.

Six tournaments are planned, with a chance for a seventh. The money helps the association continue operations and market players.

“We’ve seen women more greatly impacted through COVID and certainly in sports, that’s been exacerbated,” said Secret senior brand director Lisa Reid. “We’re providing a million dollars of support to the PWHPA to really further the cause of women trying to establish a sustainable and equitable future for women in hockey in Canada, through a sustainable league. Equal sweat deserves equal opportunity.”

PWHPA players are operating out of North American hub cities: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Minneapolis and Hudson, N.H. The association pays for ice time and skills sessions with coaches. The level of training depends on the number of COVID-19 infections in their region and the public health restrictions in place.

“Every region is different. We abide by local, regional, provincial, state and federal regulations,” Hefford said. “Some are in small groups training right now and some are in full-team training.”

“We have 38 Olympians in our five regions, we have over 60 national-team players, so this is where the best players are playing,” Hefford said.