PWHPA to hold Dream Gap Tour international showcase tournament in Nova Scotia

TRURO, N.S. — The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association will hold a Secret Dream Gap tour tournament Nov. 12-13 in Truro, N.S.

Teams from Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Boston will participate in the first international PWHPA tournament since March, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down sport worldwide.

Truro was scheduled co-host both the 2020 and 2021 women’s world hockey championship with Halifax, but both tournaments were cancelled.

This year’s championship was rescheduled and relocated to August in Calgary.

The PWHPA anticipates Nova Scotia will lift public health restrictions Sept. 15, when fans will be able to attend sports events.

“The social and economic impacts of this event will be significant to our recovery from the pandemic,” Truro Mayor Bill Mills said Thursday in a statement.

The PWHPA rose from the ashes of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League that folded in the spring of 2019 after 12 seasons. 

The association’s objective is a sustainable women’s pro league that offers a living wage and the kind of competitive support the male pros get.

The PWHPA includes many players from the Canadian and U.S. national teams, who will be training full time this winter with their respective sides ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Players will compete for prize money in Nova Scotia, and will also participate in skills clinics and speaking engagements with local team and organizations.

Each team plays a game Friday with the winners playing in Saturday’s championship round game and the losers in a consolation game at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.

“Hosting the PWHPA Dream Gap Tour is much more than just an event opportunity for our team,”venue general manager Matt Moore said. 

“It’s about demonstrating our commitment to the players, it’s about social well-being for our community, and it’s about our unwavering promise to support equality in sport.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2021.

The Canadian Press