Raphaelle Tousignant, the first woman to play for Canada's national para hockey team, in action against South Korea at the world championships in Moose Jaw, Sask., in May, 2023.Erica Perreaux/The Canadian Press
Para ice hockey is the only event at the Milan Cortina Winter Paralympic Games that is classified as a mixed-gender sport. Yet in practice, it has been anything but.
The sport made its Paralympic debut at the 1994 Lillehammer Games under the name ice sledge hockey. Over the past three decades, it has evolved into one of the marquee events of the Winter Games, fuelled in large part by the constant battles on the ice and the fast-moving pace of the game.
The competition is designated as a mixed-gender event, meaning both men and women can compete on the same team and represent their countries. Yet the model has never translated into meaningful access, with roster sizes limited and few women being invited into high-performance national team systems.
As a result, just three women have been able to play on the big stage as part of a team, only one has earned a medal, and none of them have been a Canadian. Britt Mjaasund Øyen was part of the Norwegian team that won silver in the event’s first edition. Thirty-two years later, a stand-alone women’s para hockey event has yet to materialize.
“The model itself doesn’t really present fair, because there are only three spots on each international team that could be given to women,” said former para ice hockey player Claire Buchanan. “It’s not sustainable.”
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Para women’s hockey player Raphaëlle Tousignant was one of two female players named to the Canadian development team, meaning they had a chance of being part of the Milan Cortina team. Seen as a rising star in the sport, and already the first Canadian woman to play with the men when she participated in the 2023 world para hockey championships in Moose Jaw, Tousignant’s chances of making Paralympic history were high.
“My teammates on the men’s team have been nothing but respectful. I’ve always felt welcome at the camps and competitions,” Tousignant said. “It’s a privilege to train and play alongside some of the best players in the world and, most importantly, to learn from them.”
However, at the end of last year, the 23-year-old announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, she says she has completed five out of six chemotherapy treatments, with the final one being this month, followed by surgery a couple of weeks later.
“I’m looking forward to putting this chapter behind me and focusing fully on preparing for the second World Championship coming up later this season,” she said.
Canada has a popular para women’s hockey program, but the rarity of such programs is a key factor in the event’s absence on the largest stage, Buchanan said. Britain, Norway, Australia, the United States and Canada are the only countries that have fielded teams recognized by international competition. Various other countries have built development programs, but do not have a full national squad.
“It’s a lack of numbers, and we need to grow the sport in other parts of the world,” Buchanan said.
For Tousignant, the mixed-gender categorization is a barrier itself. “Because it’s treated as mixed rather than as a separate women’s and men’s discipline, many countries don’t invest in women’s national programs.”
According to the International Paralympic Committee, women’s participation has skyrocketed from effectively near zero to about 20 per cent of the global player base in para ice hockey programs since 2022. This growth is a direct result of dedicated development efforts and targeted events for women, but the lack of visibility slows that growth down.
“The biggest impact is that fewer athletes get into para hockey. Visibility creates belief. Young girls and women with disabilities are far more likely to try a sport if they see athletes who look like them competing at the highest level,” Tousignant said.
For a sport to be added to the Paralympic program as a separate women’s event, a minimum number of active national teams must exist across multiple regions, which World Para Ice Hockey has currently set at eight, along with consistent international competition. There are currently five teams, and the first-ever women’s world championship took place last summer in Slovakia. Canada claimed silver, after falling 7-1 to the Americans in the final.
All games were streamed internationally on YouTube, and took place in one venue in an attempt to make travel easier and encourage spectators to stay for doubleheaders. Drawing thousands of viewers online and an average of 300 fans around the rink, the competition was historic.
“They organized it so well that it felt like any other world championships,” Buchanan said. “There was opening ceremonies and they made sure that the city was well aware of what was going on too.”
Participation comes at a financial cost that federations are expected to handle. As the national governing body for the sport, Hockey Canada operates under a federal mandate to manage national teams that compete at world championships and the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
In a statement to The Globe and Mail, Hockey Canada said it “continues to work intently with World Para Ice Hockey and the International Paralympic Committee as they navigate the path toward inclusion of women’s para hockey in the Paralympic Games program.”
While that advocacy continues, tangible backing has expanded. The Hockey Canada Foundation granted Women’s Para Hockey of Canada $150,000 this season, and additional support included equipment and team gear for the inaugural world championship.
“Many women’s para hockey teams still operate without national sport federation support or stable funding. Federations are hesitant to invest in women’s programs because there’s no Paralympic event,” Tousignant said. “Yet without investment and competitive opportunities it’s difficult to reach the level needed for Paralympic inclusion.”
Para ice hockey athletes and organizations are campaigning for the sport’s Paralympic inclusion for 2030.
“Without Paralympic exposure, many potential athletes simply never discover that the sport exists, or never see it as a realistic dream,” Tousignant said.
“So many of us, myself included, got into para hockey because we watched it on TV during the Games. The problem is, it’s only men.”