Having the women compete separately from the men is sexist enough, even if they were allowed to body check. I say men and women should be competing for the same spots on the team and have all teams be mixed-gender.
Why isn't checking allowed in women's hockey?
- Thread starter Roomtemperature
- Start date
-
Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
ThatSaid
Registered User
Still waiting for the first female NHL goalie. I've always thought that it's one of the few positions in male professional sports that a woman could possibly compete in. With a lot of hard work, I could see a woman having the power/flexibility to get it done. They would have to be a freak though, cause even if she was good enough, she would have to stand out SO much to get a shot. I think it will happen in our life time.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
I attended an NC State University vs University of North Carolina game the other day (higher-end club hockey, not official NCAA teams) and interestingly enough, Carolina's team included a female player in the full-checking game. She was a good enough skater to not get caught too often, but toward the end of a close game someone finally put his shoulder down and dropped her on her butt. She popped back up and kept playing, like anyone else. There was a bit of a murmur from the crowd, obviously some smirks toward the guy who did it, but from a competition standpoint it made literally no difference to him or to her. They were just playing hockey.
Burke the Legend
Registered User
- Feb 22, 2012
- 8,320
- 2,854
Yeah I remember that story too. The rest of the world was just so bad compared to Canada & USA that disallowing checking was a way to try and help out European teams more. Maybe it was a poor long term decision but I guess at the time they were pretty desperate to cut down on 20-0 blowout scores.
Sojourn
Registered User
- Nov 1, 2006
- 50,523
- 9,377
Having the men and women compete separately isn’t sexist. It’s biology. We’re talking about athletes here.
4thlineduster
Registered User
- Jan 6, 2012
- 1,017
- 474
Based on your logic you can't win. Separate the men and women that's sexist. Have intergender teams in which all women inevitably get cut because biologically men are bigger, stronger, faster, and you'd consider that sexist too I'm sure.
I don't agree with women and men playing contact hockey together. Look at the women's Olympic team which are the best women's players in the world. Putting aside the fact the women play against midget AAA teams for warm up games, there's a massive size difference as well. Using the women's Olympic roster defence, out of the 6 players, 3 weigh less than 140, with the other 3 weighing in at 144, 167, and 180. Using the Ottawa Senators as an example as they are one of the weaker NHL teams, their defensive corps weighs in at 207, 209, 196, 200, 191, and 225.
This is basic physics. The women would be hurt at an astronomical rate if they played with men.
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought it was a medical fact that girls and women are more prone to concussions? It's not like men's hockey has stood pat - they are slowly restricting hitting and fighting because men aren't immune to concussions.
Hell Hockey Canada is slowly moving up the age at which hitting is allowed.
Hell Hockey Canada is slowly moving up the age at which hitting is allowed.
Is there any rule preventing women from playing in the NHL right now? I don't believe so?
Blade Paradigm
Registered User
- Oct 21, 2017
- 823
- 1,172
The average height of Team Canada's 2018 Olympic women's hockey team is 5'9'', and their average weight is 152 lbs.
In 2003-04, Hayley Wickenheiser played 10 games in the Mestis, the second-tier Finnish professional league. She recorded 0 points in 10 games.
In the Olympics, she has 18 goals, 51 points in 26 games against her peers.
Last edited:
Howie Hodge
Palm Tree Hugger
It is a fact that women are more prone to ACL tears; so they'd be predisposed to hits as far as knee injuries...
The intercondylar notch of the knee joint lies between the femoral condyles, which are the two rounded ends of the femur (thigh bone). The ACL is found within the intercondylar notch. It connects the femur to the tibia (shin bone), providing stability to the knee by stabilizing the forward movement and the inward rotation of the joint. This intercondylar notch is narrower in women than in men, leading to increased risk of damage from the femoral condyles.
Women also have a wider pelvis than men. This leads to an increase in the quadriceps angle (Q angle) which is the angle at which the femur meets the tibia. The increased Q angle leads to a greater concentration of force on the knee, particularly during twisting movements. Movements that would cause a stretching in a man’s ACL can potentially cause a complete ACL tear in women.
Hope this helps....
The intercondylar notch of the knee joint lies between the femoral condyles, which are the two rounded ends of the femur (thigh bone). The ACL is found within the intercondylar notch. It connects the femur to the tibia (shin bone), providing stability to the knee by stabilizing the forward movement and the inward rotation of the joint. This intercondylar notch is narrower in women than in men, leading to increased risk of damage from the femoral condyles.
Women also have a wider pelvis than men. This leads to an increase in the quadriceps angle (Q angle) which is the angle at which the femur meets the tibia. The increased Q angle leads to a greater concentration of force on the knee, particularly during twisting movements. Movements that would cause a stretching in a man’s ACL can potentially cause a complete ACL tear in women.
Hope this helps....
Paxon
202? Stanley Cup Champions
It may be sexist in a literal sense but it is simply practical, though less so with increasingly complex gender identity issues. Having one national hockey team would simply result in there being only a men's team, as no woman is even close to cracking the roster of a hockey nation. There is nothing preventing a woman from playing in the NHL or even AHL, yet it is not close to happening.
Maybe the question should be the other way around, why is checking allowed in men's hockey. My guess is that women's hockey have a lot less concussion problems. They are allowed to hit, but only when skating in the same direction as the opposing player.
Not saying hitting should be removed from men's hockey, but there would be room for more entertaning hockey if players wouldn't be allowed to hit. But I understand that the majority sees checking as entertainment as well.
Not saying hitting should be removed from men's hockey, but there would be room for more entertaning hockey if players wouldn't be allowed to hit. But I understand that the majority sees checking as entertainment as well.
Laineux
Registered User
- Aug 1, 2011
- 5,267
- 2,826
The thing that makes hockey so entertaining is the players performing incredible feats under the constant threat of getting hit. Remove that, and players doing skillsy flashy stuff isn't suddenly so entertaining anymore. See all-star games.
The town I grew up in actually had an Olympic training facility used for women's ice hockey and figure skating. Playing juniors/hs at age 16-17 i used to stay late to have mixed scrimms with my hs team, junior team and the women's national team. I remember the women would just skate straight at me dangling. They were good with the puck too, but these were some of the best women in the country. I knew we couldn't hit them but my instincts always said just step up and body check. The way they skated at you , you knew body checking wasn't on their radar.
If you want to add it in then they need to add it in at the lower levels and graduate it up to higher levels. If you just added body checking it would be a mess for a few years. Women can play the physical game, I think it would be a better product if it was added.
If you want to add it in then they need to add it in at the lower levels and graduate it up to higher levels. If you just added body checking it would be a mess for a few years. Women can play the physical game, I think it would be a better product if it was added.
I would murder someone (hypothetically) if someone injured Hilary Knight's face with a hit that cause the helmet to fly and her head slam on the ice afterwards.
No, that's not it. All-star games aren't so entertaining because there's nothing at stake and no one cares about the result. Someone might find pleasure in violence, but I've had no problem enjoying all the international games with next to no physical play. Or indeed women's hockey.
No there is no rule for preventing a woman from playing in the NHL. It just will never happen, ever. Not as a player or a goalie. Just like there will never be a woman in the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc. Not a chance.
me2
Go ahead foot
This isn't Victorian England, women decide the rules for their side of the sport. So how is it sexism if the women's side of the game doesn't want it?
This is a comparison that borderlines absurdity. Do you really watch international games? If you do, you'd notice that they break the "no-checking" rule every 1.9 seconds. Are they a little less physical than the NHL? Yes, the rules are slightly tighter and the rink is slightly wider. But to use that are your example of a "no-checking" game is completely dishonest. A game where there legitimately is no checking is basketball. If you watch basketball, it's a lot of getting the ball to a big, strong and mobile athlete and then iso the rest of the way. Drive and then swing around the point. That gets pretty boring, even for NBA fans. Or women's hockey. But if people truly valued no-contact hockey, there wouldn't be two women's leagues who both struggle to stay competitive financially.
Entertaining? Sure. It's also a fundamental part of the game.
This isn't ice dance FCS.
The reason why women don't hit is residual vestiges of sexism. Why women were banned from running the marathon, why in lots of sports women get excluded from some aspects for "fear for their safety". It's paternalistic nonsense.
As. To the notion that if they allowed checking USA and Canada would walk away with it, how is that different from the current situation. If you gave me 100 to one of the field vs can/usa for gold that wouldn't be enough.
Sure, what's your point though? Have you never seen serious injuries in Int. Hockey? Or are you saying that a half measure that doesn't involve taking away checking wouldn't suffice? Most people agree with making the game safer but not taking away checking, is there a particular reason why you take one stance and not another?
As nice as this statement is as a platitude, it (and the previous statement) doesn't really support or explain the initial assertion that physicality isn't an integral part of the integrity of the sport from an entertainment perspective. I will assume that discussion has concluded.
