Two years after the Nevada men’s hockey program started and became the first college hockey team in Northern Nevada, the women are getting in on the action, too.
Kaila Thompson, a freshman studying neuroscience at the University of Nevada, Reno, held the first meeting as president of the Nevada women’s hockey club on Sept. 10.
The discussion, attended by other women interested in joining, was centered around what the club may look like and what they need to do to make it a reality.
As a club sport, the team still operates the same as any other club; however, before even submitting their application to the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN), the team needs to fill many officer positions.
Thompson and other students passionate about the sport gathered to discuss the details of not only running the club, but also building the team as a whole.
Hockey is a pricey sport, from ice time to gear to travel. Discussions about fundraising and sponsors were a major part of the meeting, with the team hoping to make club dues as low as possible to be more accessible to interested players.
The men’s team has also been helping the team manage the development of the program, including promoting the club.
“I’m trying to get on that board […] I’m just trying to help them out as much as I can,” Christopher Lai, assistant captain for the Nevada men’s hockey team, mentioned in a conversation with The Nevada Sagebrush.
Lai also mentioned hoping to reach out to the sponsors of the men’s program to receive additional funding for the women’s team.
The outreach of the team has also reached Nevada students interested in hockey but who have never played before. Out of the 13 total girls Thompson mentioned had reached out to her, she said about 40% are beginners.
The club wants to help develop beginning players as well as give longtime players a place to play in a women-only team, but getting started is difficult.
College hockey has a huge lack of women’s hockey programs on the West Coast. In the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which currently provides two divisions in women’s hockey, only the Division 1 program has a league based in the West.
As a developing program, D1 is not currently in Nevada’s reach. Even so, if Nevada could join the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League, it would join as the westernmost team in a league full of teams from Arizona, Utah and Colorado, and the travel would be heavy for the team.
Thompson spoke after the interest meeting about her reason for starting the team and her hopes for the club in the future.
“We want to bring together the female athletes of Reno. We want to represent Nevada in the hockey community,” Thompson said.
As a Reno local, Thompson has had experience with the hockey programs available in the city and wanted to help expand the options for women in the sport.
“I started this club because while growing up and playing hockey on co-ed teams was fun, nothing will ever beat playing with women for me,” she said. “This year we are planning on doing many fundraisers, team bonding activities, and just overall publicize our team.”
As a newer club team themselves, and one of the biggest club sports at Nevada, the men’s hockey team has also been helping Thompson navigate her way through developing the club and team.
“The men’s team at UNR has been so helpful and supportive of us, and I hope we continue to gain support across our community.” Thompson said. “Through the next few years, we do plan on being a tournament-only team due to the lack of women’s club teams on the West Coast, but we hope more pop up.”
While the club is still working on building its team and gaining participants, Thompson is holding weekly meetings to maintain engagement from interested students and continue to build the club.
