In this 23rd edition, we learn more about Project 8’s rebrand to their new name, Northern Super League, plus the final six participating cities that will have teams for the 2025 season. We also learn more about the PWHL draft, including the new Canadian players drafted and Hockey Canada’s new committee, which will review and create a strategy for the future hockey landscape for girls and women in Canada. Lastly, we learn more about the new heights the WNBA has reached over the first month of the 2024 season, including new records for merchandise sales, attendance, and more.

The stories of the week show young girls and women in sport and physical activity that:

1. The final pieces are coming together to begin a new women’s professional soccer league in Canada next year. The announcement of the six participating locations proves that a soccer market is wanted and in demand. Women’s sports representation in more cities in Canada is needed, and the Northern Super League is a great opportunity to help normalize it.
2. The PWHL draft’s representation of Canadian talent proves that women’s hockey is moving in the right direction, and luckily, through the PWHL, their drafts, and hopefully new locations/hockey markets to gain teams in the future, there will be a healthy ecosystem where Canadian players can continue their hockey careers and get paid.
3. Hockey Canada’s committee is dedicated to celebrating the success of girls and women’s hockey in Canada. However, it’s equally important to search for barriers and areas that need improvement and take responsibility for helping eliminate those barriers. 
4. The growth the WNBA has seen over the first month of the season is encouraging. A couple more months in, and towards the end of the season, we will likely see even more impressive numbers proving how great of a product the WNBA is in the women’s sports ecosystem.

Project 8 Makes Moves with Announcement of Name Rebranding, Final Participating Cities, and Merchandise

Formerly named Project 8, the Canadian women’s professional soccer league, which will begin in 2025, announced its new name: the Northern Super League (NSL).

At the same time, the NSL confirmed that the teams part of the league for the inaugural 2025 season will include the following six locations/clubs across Canada:

1. AFC Toronto (Ontario)

   

2. Calgary Wild FC (Alberta)
3. Halifax (Nova Scotia)
4. Montreal (Quebec)
5. Ottawa (Ontario)
6. Vancouver (British Columbia)

The league has begun announcing partnerships, including Air Canada, Canadian Tire, CIBC, DoorDash, and Sportchek . It’s not yet known what involvement these partnerships will have with the league. Still, there’s great potential, including the opportunity to sell merchandise in stores at Canadian Tire and Sportchek and for Air Canada to be involved with team travel. 

The NSL has also released league merchandise, including shirts, hoodies, and hats. You can purchase merchandise online here.

PWHL’s Offseason Includes Player Draft and Incoming Announcement of Team Names

After a historic and highly successful inaugural season for the PWHL, their off-season has included exciting announcements to look forward to.

The PWHL hosted their second draft in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home of the inaugural season champions, PWHL Minnesota. 

A total of 42 players were drafted amongst the six teams. Amongst the 42, the representation of Canadian players includes:

• Sarah Fillier 
• Danielle Serdachny
• Claire Thompson
• Julia Gosling
• Jennifer Gardiner
• Megan Carter
• Stephanie Markowski
• Brooke McQuigge
• Dara Greig
• Kayle Osborne
• Emmy Fecteau
• Mae Batherson
• Raygan Kirk

The six teams have also finalized their team names and logos, which will be announced publicly this August 2024. 

Hockey Canada Gathers Committee for Girls and Women’s Hockey in Canada Strategy

Hockey Canada is increasing its efforts to create a healthy landscape for girls and women playing hockey in Canada. During a women’s and girls’ hockey symposium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the organization announced more details about the committee.

The committee has 15 leaders from the hockey world, including Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Jayna Hefford, Angela James, Katherine Henderson, Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, and more. 

The committee aims to “establish a roadmap for where we all envision women’s and girls’ hockey in the future, as there remains a tremendous amount of potential to remove existing barriers to the sport.”

More details about the strategy for the future of Canadian girls and women in hockey will be released in a published discussion paper this summer.

WNBA’s 2024 Season Sets New Records in Multiple Categories Over the Last Month

One month into the WNBA 2024 season, the league has released statistics proving a new level of success the league has seen so far. 

One month into the 2024 WNBA season, we have seen statistics such as:

• Approximately 400,000 fans have attended games so far, the most through the first month of a WNBA season in 26 years.
• WNBA arenas were filled to a 94% capacity, up 17% from the 2023 WNBA season.
• Between platforms, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and CBS, games are averaging 1.32 million viewers, which is close to triple last season’s average of 462,000 viewers.

• The WNBA’s online merchandise has set a single-season sales record, up 756% compared to the 2023 WNBA season.
• The WNBA’s social media accounts received 157 million video views in the first week of the season, a 380% increase compared to the 2023 WNBA season.
• The WNBA’s League Pass subscription service saw a 355% increase compared to the 2023 WNBA season.

 

Kaitlyn’s Sport Stories Recap are written by Kaitlyn Lehbert, a passionate and driven sport advocate for girls and women. Kaitlyn holds her Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Brock University. Learn more about Kaitlyn by clicking here!

Have a sport story you want to share? Contact info@fastandfemale.com and it may get featured in Kaitlyn’s next feature.