Canadian history · Drawing 18 of 43
Girls on the ice
Around 1890
Around 1890, girls and women were already playing hockey in Canada, wearing long skirts. Over time, more teams formed. In 2002, Canada’s women’s team won its first Olympic gold medal.
Look together
Can you find the puck between the sticks?
An idea to try
Look at the skirts, skates and sticks with the child. Ask what resembles today’s equipment and what has changed, then invent a simple passing game together with a ball on the ground.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Photographs show women playing hockey at Rideau Hall in the early 1890s. Accounts do not all agree on a single first game, so the page uses an approximate period without claiming a precise invention or first match.
Women’s ice hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998. Canada won its first women’s Olympic hockey gold in 2002. The drawing shows only an imagined early game, rather than that Olympic team. The skirts and simplified equipment are historical details, rather than guidance for playing hockey today.
Sources and illustration notes (3)
Three imagined female players around 1890 in long skirts, winter caps, mittens and old skates. A pass on an outdoor rink with one puck and no net or logos; no real players’ faces.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Governor General of Canada - Rideau Hall RinkThe first known image of women playing hockey, in the early 1890s.
- Hockey Canada - Statistics & HistoryWomen’s hockey history and Olympic inclusion in 1998.
- Canadian Olympic Committee - Ice HockeyCanada’s first women’s Olympic hockey gold in 2002.
Page prepared on November 7, 2026. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
This drawing is from the book Canada’s Great Moments to Colour
Tax calculated at checkout. Terms of sale