Too often, it’s women’s sports that seem to miss out when it comes to sports funding. The latest victims to feel the impact are Australia’s elite women’s ice hockey players. What’s the scam?
The scam is how the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL or “A-dub”) has suffered a 60% cut in its funding from Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) compared with 0.00% for the men – following revelations of financial mismanagement by the previous IHA president. The men’s funding has not been cut.
“The decision to cut funding for women’s ice hockey just weeks before the national league begins is not only short-sighted, but disrespectful,” said the still-active former national team captain Stephanie Boxall, whose name now graces the women’s national championships. “Since the late ’90s, women’s hockey has been forced to build its game with little meaningful support from IHA,” adding that we are,
too often treated as a token group rather than as valued athletes who’ve grown the game despite systemic neglect.
Ten-time national team and Melbourne Ducks’ captain Lucy Parrington told MWM, “It gives bad optics around the fairness of how support is distributed when the AWIHL seems to be the first cut … but there’s no transparency on how money is allocated.”
Former IHA president and board member Miranda Ransome challenges the perception that women always come second when it comes to ice hockey funding, saying that while she was on the board, IHA tried to be fair in its funding model, both with the AWIHL and the national teams.
Sandi Logan was a journalist from 1974-1984 (Fairfax, Toronto Sun, ABC-TV & Radio); a DFAT diplomat from 1984-2002, serving in Port Moresby (1988-90), Bonn (1993-96) and Washington DC (1998-2002); a media adviser to federal Liberal and Labor ministers; a communications executive and spokesman for the AFP and the Department of Immigration; and most recently an author of the non-fiction book BETRAYED (Hachette). Originally from Canada, he has also played ice hockey for more than 60 years.