Fran Rider CM OOnt is a Canadian ice hockey executive, and former player. She began playing ice hockey in 1967, with the Brampton Canadettes, the predecessor to the Brampton Thunder. Rider is one of the founders of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association and played a significant role in expanding women's national and international competitions. Rider was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2015 in recognition of her substantial impact on the growth and development of the modern game of women's hockey.[1]

Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA)

The Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) was formed in 1975 to generate interest in and support the development of women's ice hockey. Rider was the association's founding executive director, and in 1982 she became president of CEO.[2] That same year, the OWHA formally joined Hockey Canada, and Rider became a member of Hockey Canada's female council.[2]

Organized women's ice hockey competition

Canadian

Rider was instrumental in setting up a national championship for women's ice hockey, called the Esso Women's Hockey Nationals, which was the Canadian senior women's championship from 1982 to 2008. With the evolution of the Nationals into a professional tournament, Hockey Canada elected to discontinue it in 2008 and replace it with a national female midget championship known as the Esso Cup.[3]

International

Rider was also a key figure in helping organize the 1987 World Women's Hockey Tournament, which was hosted in Toronto, Ontario. The OWHA hosted the tournament, which was not recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and was therefore considered an unofficial event.[4] During the tournament, representatives from participating nations met to establish a strategy to lobby the IIHF for the creation of a Women's World Championship.

In 1990, Rider helped organize the first IIHF-sanctioned tournament for women's ice hockey which was held in Ottawa, Ontario.[5] The 1990 Women’s World Championships did not receive any financial support from the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.[6]

Working closely with European colleagues, Rider then turned attention towards getting women's hockey into the Winter Olympics, with the hope of having the sport included in the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.[2] Although this goal was not met, women's hockey debuted four years later at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.[2]

Recognition for women's excellence in sport

When Angela James was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 8, 2010, she said that without Rider, she would never have made it into the Hockey Hall of Fame.[7][8]

Rider was appointed Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in the 2015 Canadian honours, "for her contributions to the development of women’s hockey, both at the national and international levels".[9] In 2016, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Ontario (OOnt).[10] Along with Scotty Bowman and Murray Costello, Rider was among the 2017 class named to the Order of Hockey in Canada.[11]

Accolades

Personal

During May 2018, Rider was part of a group of four female athletes, including Cassie Campbell, Jen Kish, and Kerrin Lee-Gartner, to publicly pledge their brain to a Canadian research centre. The posthumous donation shall be made to Toronto Western Hospital’s Canadian Concussion Centre to further research on the effect of trauma on women’s brains.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 Kalchman, Lois (December 19, 2014). "Canada's Fran Rider to be inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame". Toronto Star. Toronto. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Graves, Wendy (June 19, 2017). "A Game of Her Own". Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  3. ↑ "NR.156". Hockey Canada. December 1, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  4. ↑ "A Brief History of Women's Hockey". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  5. ↑ Jamieson, Natasha (April 7, 2013). "Women's Hockey Herstory: 1890 to 1990". Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  6. ↑ Elizabeth Etue; Megan K. Williams (1996). On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-929005-79-9.
  7. ↑ "Legends of Hockey, Induction Showcase, Angela James". The Official Site of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  8. ↑ Goyette, Heaney and Campbell could earn Hall call - NHL.com - Hall of Fame
  9. ↑ "Ms. Fran Rider". Governor-General of Canada. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  10. ↑ "The 2016 Appointees to the Order of Ontario". December 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Legendary Scotty Bowman named to Order of Hockey Canada: Costello, Rider also honoured for contributions to development of Canadian game". CBC.ca. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ HHOF Site Map Archived July 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Elizabeth Etue; Megan K. Williams (1996). On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-929005-79-9.
  14. ↑ Aykroyd, Lucas (May 17, 2015). "IIHF class of 2015 honoured". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  15. ↑ Campbell, Morgan (May 10, 2018). "Four high-profile Canadians to donate their brains for research into concussion effects in women". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
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