By ALEXANDRIA DEER
Ladies of Conestoga, it’s time to lace up.
The Manulife Financial Sportsplex and Healthy Living Centre at RIM Park offers women’s shinny hockey every Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
The Sportsplex opened the women’s only shinny hockey program 10 years ago.
Jeanette Leduke, an instructor at Conestoga in the office administration and health office administration programs, has been playing recreational hockey in Waterloo Region for the last 10 years.
She is one of the 15 women who regularly shows up to play.
“I enjoy playing because it’s a total escape from everyday life; white ice, a black puck and that’s about as complicated as it gets,” Leduke said. “Like a lot of people, I find it hard to exercise if it’s not fun. In an aerobics class, I’d be looking at the clock after 20 minutes, but I’d chase after a puck all day long.”
Darlene Barraclough also comes out to play on a regular basis. “It’s fun. It’s a fun bunch of ladies.”
Many of the same women come out to play each week, but they are always looking for new faces, especially goalies.
“It’d be nice if we could get more (out to play),” said Barraclough. “We don’t have any goalies so we put cow bells in the net. You have to hit a cow bell to consider it a goal.”
The admission fee is $7 per person and goalies are free of charge. Adults 18 years of age or older can play. The game is unsupervised, and helmets and gloves are required. For more information and full schedule details visit www.waterloo.ca/skate.
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