‘Do better’: Uproar grows as controversy grips women’s ice hockey

Tennis legend Billie Jean King has joined a group of Olympians and top-flight ice hockey pros demanding swift action following a highly controversial decision some have branded sexist.

The uproar, which has consumed the sport since Christmas Eve, began after governing body the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) cancelled January’s women’s under-18s world championship for the second year in a row while allowing the closest men’s equivalent, the World Junior Championship, to go ahead once again.

Just weeks away from the Beijing Olympics, which saw the multimillion-dollar men of the top-flight National Hockey League (NHL) pull out over Covid concerns last week, the IIHF now faces another growing crisis from the game’s biggest stars - and beyond.

“It is unacceptable for @IIHFhockey to cancel the 2022 U18 Women’s World Championships for 2nd straight year, while keeping the men’s events scheduled,” King tweeted to her 532,000 followers. “This continues to widen the gender gap between women’s & men’s sports.”

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Shannon Szabados wrote: “It’s super insulting & degrading to announce the cancellation (not even postponement or relocation) of the Women’s U18 WHILE a men’s tournament is being carried on not once but TWO YEARS IN A ROW. Do better”, adding in a second tweet: “How do we expect the game to get better if we don't even give it a chance?”

Four-time Swiss Olympian Florence Schelling, meanwhile, called the tournament’s axing “a disgrace”.

The move also united the ire of Beijing-bound rival captains. Team USA’s Kendall Coyne Schofield deemed the cancellation “unacceptable”, while Canadian skipper Marie-Philip Poulin called on the IIHF to postpone rather than cancel the tournament, adding, “These ladies deserve to showcase their talent as much as the guys!”

A petition to reschedule the women’s U18s now has over 28,000 signatures.

The U20 men’s World Juniors draw huge television numbers and headlines in Canada, where its Boxing Day puck drop is a country-consuming post-Christmas tradition.

The tournament is seen as the marquee event for the NHL’s next big stars and a rite-of-passage for the world’s national and Olympic team hopefuls, who often rise through the junior ranks together.

After swirling rumours, the women’s U18s, set to begin 8 January in Sweden, were cancelled on 24 December, alongside other IIHF events slated to begin next month, with the organisation citing “ongoing concerns regarding the spread of the Omicron variant” despite the men’s event, which began on Boxing Day, going ahead as planned just days before New Year’s.

Some, including four-time Olympic gold medallist Hayley Wickenheiser, who sits on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, have suggested finances could be a factor.

While the women’s competition doesn’t attract the same viewing figures as the World Juniors, it is a vital showcase for emerging female talent and a critical stop on the road to college scholarships, sponsorship or even a livelihood in the growing professional game.

It’s that vision of a more egalitarian future which ultimately provoked retired 13-season NHL veteran Marc Methot, who in 2015 signed a four-year, $19.6 million (£14.6 million) deal with the Ottawa Senators, to speak out.

He wrote, echoing the ever-louder chorus: “What an idiotic decision and completely unfair. The young women deserve better here. I want my daughter to play one day. I’d expect better for her, too.”