Hayley Wickenheiser says female hockey players losing dressing room to boys' team is 'crap'

Hayley Wickenheiser, regarded as one of the best female hockey players in the world, thinks it's "crap" girls at an arena in Ridgetown, Ont., got bumped out of their dressing room to make room for an all-boys team.

• Female hockey players feel 'unsafe' after dressing room taken away at Ridgetown arena

The four-time Olympic gold medallist tweeted Tuesday in support of girls from the co-ed South Kent Minor Hockey Association (SKMHA) who were forced to get ready for games in a "tiny" room with a door that opened directly into the lobby, allowing anyone outside to look in.

Later, they were moved again, this time to a disabled washroom that had been refitted.

Wickenheiser's tweet follows a statement from Shawn Allen, president of the hockey association, calling for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to restore "security, dignity and equality" after the only full dressing room the girls could use was leased to an all-boys AAA team called the Cyclones.

Laurie Glassford, a former member of the board who has three grandchildren — including two girls — currently playing at the arena, said the temporary dressing rooms left female players feeling "unsafe."

Several people responded to Wickenheiser's tweet with photos of female players at other arenas who were forced to change in storage closets and bathroom stalls.

Mayor apologized for switch

Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope, who said he has a granddaughter who plays hockey, has since apologized for the switch and promised to make it right.

"I'm sorry for those families for inconveniencing them. I know how they must feel, but it was not done intentionally to make someone feel inadequate or not part of the minor hockey system," he said. "We know things are changing, more girls are playing hockey and we need to make sure there are accommodations."

The municipality issued a statement Wednesday pledging to build a new dressing room in the arena with "equitable amenities" by Jan. 8.

• Chatham-Kent to build new dressing room after female hockey players' room taken away

Wickenheiser tweeted again to give Chatham-Kent "kudos" for the offer, but Allen said that decision was made without consulting the hockey association and the municipality's suggestions won't actually solve the problem. The SKMHA board voted to reject the offer during its meeting Tuesday.

 "It's frustrating because ... we're trying to work with them ... but then we kind of get blindsided by a press release from the mayor.

"They had a proposal to change our office into a change room and gave us a choice between that and the referee's room," Allen explained. "It was decided it was not sufficient ... just due to the size of the rooms."

The association's office is only about 3.6 by 2.1 metres, meaning once a shower, sink and toilet are added the dressing room won't be much larger than the space the girls are cramped in now.

The referee's room is slightly larger and already has a shower, but it comes with issues of its own, according to Allen.

'It's a little bit bigger but not quite big enough, however the other piece to that is the referees' association has pretty much said they're not going to move until they have a  sufficient space with a shower," he said. "To kick them out of that room, you're just creating another problem and they've pretty much said they could refuse to cover our games if that was the case."