Women’s hockey league launches in North Bay

North Bay's senior women's hockey league has three teams this year with hopes to grow to 10 next year.

It’s the first time in a long time that North Bay has had a senior women’s hockey league through the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association.

But, the puck has dropped and three teams are in the league for this season.

"In North Bay, there wasn’t really a league for girls to play hockey after they aged out of minor hockey. So we wanted something for university students and older adults in the community could continue to play they love the game," said Kiara Jefferies, director of marketing for the North Bay Ice Boltz hockey association.

There’s also hope that this league will continue to grow the game of hockey in North Bay for all age groups.

"We are definitely open to growing the game as a whole," said Jefferies.

"This year, our U7, which is our youngest program, is up to 35 players, where in the past we have had 15-20. So it’s nice to see a growth in the game. Especially it being an Olympic year, all these players on the ice have someone to look up to, which they don’t have in a normal year, which is great to see."

Jefferies told CTV News there’s a wide range of ages in the league with players from ages 18 to 40 years old.