PWHPA Athletes Participating in Four-Team Exhibition Tournaments kicking off in Toronto, Ontario, September 20, 2019 followed by events in Hudson, New Hampshire and Chicago, Illinois

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 28, 2019) – The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), composed of the best female hockey players from around the world, today announced a barnstorming “Dream Gap Tour” that will descend upon several cities in Canada and the United States. The tour will include community involvement events and four games where the top players in the sport are on display.

There currently is not a league that consistently showcases the best product of women’s hockey in the world, pays its players a living wage and has the infrastructure to set the game up to succeed.Such a league would represent an important step in closing the dream gap between young boys and girls. A young boy can lace up his skates and imagine himself circling the ice in his favorite professional team’s jersey as the crowd chants his name. He dreams it, because he’s seen it countless times. There is no realistic equivalent for aspiring female hockey players to imagine their futures.

“This is a year of purpose for every member of the Players Association. Young hockey players – boys and girls – should be able to share a dream of one day making a living as a professional hockey player,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, captain of the U.S. National Hockey Team, Olympic Gold Medalist and the first woman to compete in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition. “That reality doesn’t exist today for girls. Together, we are on a mission to change that.”

Four decades ago, Billie Jean King led a crusade that changed tennis and women’s sports forever. Today, her company, Billie Jean King Enterprises is providing leadership and guidance as the world’s elite female hockey players make their own push.

“When the Original Nine started women’s professional tennis in 1970, we envisioned a world where any girl if she is good enough would have a place to compete, would be appreciated for her skills and accomplishments, and could make a living playing professional tennis,“ King said. “Today, almost 50 years later, the women in professional hockey, soccer, and other sports are facing the same situation, and our vision has not changed. Everyone should be able to have the dream and the opportunity to earn a living playing the sport they love.”

The PWHPA Dream Gap Tour will include action-packed weekends featuring youth clinics and four-team exhibition tournament culminating with a market champion. The world’s best players including Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Amanda Kessel, Monique Lamoureux-Morando, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Brianna Decker, Noora Raty, Renata Fast and Brianne Jenner are all participating in the tour. The 2019 – 2020 tour includes:

• Toronto, Ontario, Canada (September 20 – 22, 2019)
• Hudson, New Hampshire (October 4 – 6, 2019)
• Chicago, Illinois (October 18 – 20, 2019)

“I couldn’t be more honored and excited to participate in the Dream Gap Tour, kicking off in the city that I grew up playing in,” said Brianne Jenner Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion, Clarkson Cup Champion. “ Toronto is a hockey hot bed and I couldn’t think of a better location to start the tour. Young female hockey players need to see their role models competing and believe that they can dream about being professional hockey players. It’s time to close the Dream Gap.”

*Additional PWHPA events include exhibitions against Boston College Saturday, September 21 at Conte Forum and the PWHPA against the San Jose Sharks alumni on Sunday, September 22 at the SAP Center.  For more information visit pwhpa.com. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA)

Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association’s (PWHPA) mission is to promote, advance, and support a single, viable professional women’s ice hockey league in North America that showcases the greatest product of women’s professional ice hockey in the world. The organization aims to provide a united voice to players advocating for the creation of a sustainable professional league. PWHPA is working to accomplish its mission by coordinating training needs and programming opportunities during the 2019-2020 season and collaborating with like-minded organizations to make hockey more inclusive for women today and for future generations. To learn more about PWHPA and the Dream Gap tour visit www.pwhpa.com.

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