\n\tSunday was a day of celebration in Canmore, as a group of Edmonton hockey players became some of the most decorated in Canada.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Edmonton Chimos 1983 – 1993 team, has been inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
\n\tFounded in 1973, the Chimos are Alberta’s longest-running senior women’s AAA hockey program, and the team battled its way through the beginnings of women’s hockey in the province.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe early 70\u2019s would\u2019ve been when hockey was a very male dominated sport,\u201d said Shirley Cameron, former Chimos’ player and coach.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA good portion of our practices were outdoors because that was the only ice we could get,” she added. “Or our practices were at 11 o\u2019clock at night because that\u2019s the only time they would give us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCameron was one of the first Chimos, lacing up in 1973 before playing 19 seasons and serving as head coach.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe was on the team during the 1983 to 1993 era, when the Chimos captured every Hockey Alberta Provincial Championship and three Abby Hoffman Cup National Women’s Championships.<\/p>\n
\n\tSunday, that group of women were honoured for their accomplishments and contributions to the sport.<\/p>\n
\n\t“There was a lot of fighting and a lot of determination from us as players in the time to get our sport recognized,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe head of Hockey Alberta’s Hall of Fame Selection Committee credits the Chimos for paving the way for a new wave of Women’s Hockey.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNow we\u2019re seeing Finland and we\u2019re seeing Czechia win a bronze medal,” said Al Coates.<\/p>\n
\n\t“All this stuff now that we’re really seeing now, with the success of the women\u2019s program all goes back to and originates with some of the accomplishments of these women,\u201d said Al Coates.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt’s a progression the trail-blazers are happy to see.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIf you look at the game today, the young girls and the level of skill that is coming out so much earlier, the CIS, you know the game at a higher level is finally getting to where it could\u2019ve been,\u201d said former Chimos player Kathy Berg.<\/p>\n
\n\tOther 2023 Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame inductees include former Edmonton Oiler Charlie Huddy and John Utendale, the first Black player to sign an NHL contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n