Editors, the Gauntlet,
Re: Women’s Hockey coverage
This past weekend we, the U of C Dinos, hosted the CIAU Women’s National Hockey Championships. Our squad, made up of 11 rookies, three second-year, one third-year and two fourth-year players, put forward our best effort to represent the University of Calgary. We felt we had two strong efforts against the University of Toronto and McGill University, but were clearly outmatched by these two highly-ranked teams. Despite being underdogs in this tournament, we came out with a decisive victory against St. Francis Xavier University and claimed fifth spot in the tournament we were fortunate enough to host.
Finishing fifth at the National Championships was quite a feat for our team, especially considering some of our lopsided performances this season. Although the outcomes are what the media has dwelled on during this building year, we focused on improving performances throughout the year, not on the outcomes themselves. We take full responsibility for our lacklustre performances throughout this season, and we will not attempt to make any excuses for them. We had a terrible record this season but we improved both individually and as a team over the course of the year.
We would like to thank the Gauntlet for presenting some well-balanced reflections regarding our team, our athletes and our season. However, on occasion, we felt that the Gauntlet lost sight of their fair-handed view of our situation. It is with these times that we take issue with the Gauntlet. We had hoped the Gauntlet could garner some support for our team despite our less than satisfactory season, but that was not the case. It is our hope that those who read the articles laced with sarcasm were not deterred from supporting our team.
The Dinos’ Women’s Hockey teams have been strong contenders in CIAU competition from the onset of the women’s hockey program at the U of C four years ago. Every team goes through periods of rebuilding and ours is no different. We would appreciate a little support from our school media, even if we are not a top contender every year.
The Dinos’ Women’s hockey team wishes to thank Athletic Director Don Wilson, other Dinos teams, fans and volunteers who provided us with much needed encouragement and support throughout the season. Those who came to watch the Women’s Nationals tournament saw a proud Dinos team who played with heart and never gave up. To the Gauntlet, we hope that your future support of our team will be less conditional than it has been this season. To our fans and volunteers, your support made our achievement possible.