On behalf of Nike Bauer and the EDGE Girl's Hockey program we are pleased to announce that the Fire on Ice Girl's Hockey Tournament will now be a part of the acclaimed Nike Bauer International AAA Invite.
A forward thinking proposal was approved by the corporate office of Nike Bauer to expand the highly successful Nike Bauer International AAA Invite tournament to include Girls. This proposal was submitted to appease a number of coaches and others who have long thought the allowances for girls in hockey are too low and thus contribute to the sport’s perception of male only. That feeling is exacerbated when teams register for the Nike Bauer International Invite and ask if there is a Girls Division. The Nike Bauer International Invite certainly did not want to be perceived as bias: instead, felt they should broaden the offer and stop any imbalance by promoting opportunities for girls.
The Nike Bauer International AAA Boys Invite had 352 teams participate this past year and has been rated as the number one tournament to attend for the past two years.
The Fire on Ice Girls Hockeytournament is recognized as one of the premier girls hockey tournaments in the Northeast. This past year they hosted 80 teams from New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Vermont,California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, and Canada.
"The same kind of reaction we get for the boys can be expected for the girl’s event because we are absolutely gaining a truly unique and powerful asset by partnering with the Fire on Ice tournament," said Nike Bauer International AAA Invite President Kevin Mann. "As everyone knows very well ~ the girl's game is growing, awareness is growing and it's all good for the game. This will also be a first for Nike Bauer Hockey dedicating a tournament exclusively to female hockey. But more importantly, it is mybelief that this event will grow in stature and will become a major fixture in the annual female hockey calendar. Nike Bauer will have a real impact on this type of tournament and the opportunities it creates for girl’s hockey. Nike Bauer will be able to now showcase the best girl's teams and players in a competitive situation which helps the sport in a way that other tournaments can't. By diving into thisarea of the things we will be able to familiarize the girls the way we do the boys in this incredible event."
The two events will run simultaneously November 6.‐8, 2009 in Chicago, IL (Boys) and Rochester, NY (Girls).
The Girls will offer divisions at the U10/U12/U14/U16 and U19 age levels.
