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Published Jan 03, 2025 • Last updated Jan 03, 2025 • 10 minute read
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A team of female high school hockey players in southwestern Nova Scotia is disappointed that the same rule that has allowed them to play hockey this year also prevents them from having the same type of meaningful season as the teams they are playing against.
While the other teams have the opportunity to go the distance in their seasons, for a second year in a row the Yarmouth Vikings – made up of players from Yarmouth and Barrington high schools – have been told they are not permitted to compete at regionals or provincials.
And the team worries its future teams will also never have this chance since neither school has had enough players to ice teams on their own for a couple of years and things don’t look to be improving.
The rule impacting the team is School Sport Nova Scotia (SSNS) rule 3.7.4 that states while schools can combine to form a team, both schools must have a population of less than 250 senior high school students to determine divisions and playoff participation.
The population of Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School (YCMHS) far exceeds that figure. Therefore, the combined team is allowed to play in league games, exhibition games and tournaments, but it can’t play in regionals or provincials.
SSNS says rule 3.7.4 allows small schools to participate in sports they may not have a large enough population to support.
“For Yarmouth/Barrington, a school of 600 has joined with a school of 225 to participate in high school hockey,” says Krista Higdon, a communications representative responding on behalf of SSNS executive director Stephen Gallant to questions sent by the Tri-County Vanguard.
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“Only combined teams where all players come from schools with fewer than 250 students are eligible for playoffs. The caveat is designed to ensure an equitable playoff experience. Rule 3.7.4 is applied consistently to all combined teams,” Higdon says.
But the Vikings team feels players are being penalized for something beyond their control.
Yarmouth only had 12 players come to tryouts. Barrington only had seven. Had the schools not combined neither could have had a team. There were no cuts. All players who came to tryouts were accepted.
This is the second year the Yarmouth and Barrington schools had to combine. It’s not known if this will be a necessity every year, but there’s a good chance it will as there are only so many female hockey players in the region.
In recent years the nearby Clare and Par-en-Bas high schools have needed to combine to form a team. But because both of those schools have smaller senior high populations their combined team can compete at regionals and provincials.
‘NO EXCEPTIONS’ SEEMS UNFAIR
Maguire Breton is head coach of the Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School (YCMHS) girls’ team. He thinks the stance of SSNS is unfair because the student athletes are being punished for circumstances beyond their control.
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“In a time where we are pushing females to pursue athletics, SSNS is dismissing these athletes and the possibility of them achieving their goal to compete alongside their peers in regionals and provincials, while simply citing a rule and saying, ‘no exceptions.’”
Breton says while YCMHS students attend a school whose population suggests it can ice a hockey team, in reality, the school can’t. He adds hockey isn’t a sport that just anyone can play if numbers are low.
“A player must be able to skate to participate safely,” he says.
Breton says they know when the rule was created it wasn’t done so to exclude athletes. But he says when rules are created it’s also impossible to consider all possible future scenarios.
“Which is why exceptions are made all the time to rules when they are deemed unjust or not in the spirit of their intent, which I strongly believe to be the case here,” he says.
Breton says the players are crushed. He says they play hockey because they love to compete and do their best, but they’re being told their dedication, hard work, commitment, and long hours on the road aren’t deserving of a season with a true goal like the other teams.Story continues below
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“The games that you play at regionals and provincials are games these players would never forget,” he says. “No pickup game as an adult will give you the same feeling you had when you were a youth representing your school for your region and province.”
APPEAL DENIED
It’s presumed one intention of the SSNS rule is also to avoid schools combining to create a stacked team of their best players, putting them at an advantage over other teams.
But that’s not what’s happening here. By their own admission, the combined Yarmouth/Barrington team is no powerhouse.
“We are being told to just be happy with being able to play games and nothing more,” says Breton. “I don’t think that our players should have to be satisfied with just being allowed to participate in games without it counting towards their standing amongst their peers. Their season deserves some finality.”
The team plays in the Valley High School Hockey League. As of the end of December, it had played eight games – winning four and losing four. That record put them middle of the pack. Last year the team finished sixth out of 10 teams – tied for points with the team in seventh place. The team says even their league feels they should be allowed to fully compete.
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Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School appealed the SSNS decision, but the appeal was denied. At the end of December, the initial ruling still stood.
The combined Vikings team says it is willing to compete in playoffs at the highest Division 1 level against the larger schools, which is where Yarmouth high would have played anyway had it been able to ice a team on its own.
‘IT’S REALLY UPSETTING’
YCMHS student Kiersten Kenney loves playing hockey for her school. To not be allowed to make a run for provincials is disheartening.
“The team works hard. By not being able to participate fully with equal opportunity as other teams in the league, it’s really upsetting,” she says.
“In my Grade 10 year, we didn’t have the opportunity to play as we didn’t have enough players. It was an extremely upsetting time for all of us. If we didn’t combine with Barrington, I would have never been able to play the game I love for my high school. Many of us wouldn’t have,” she says. “Provincials and regionals are more than just hockey games. They are the most exciting moments for an athlete.”
Kenney says it’s important for her and her teammates to be given the chance to go the distance like the other league teams.
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“Not only would it be meaningful to us, but it would pave the way for other teams in similar situations and encourage and support female hockey players’ interest in the sport,” she says.
STRIVING FOR INCLUSION
On its website, School Sport Nova Scotia’s vision is described as follows: “Through School Sport Nova Scotia programs, every eligible student can find a path to sports at school and experience education through sport.”
Its guiding principles state that “decisions will be student centred, inclusive, based on safety and respect, and focused on innovation, growth, and continuous improvement.”
It’s the word ‘inclusive’ that stands out for the Yarmouth/Barrington team.
“We all put in a lot of work, balancing school, personal lives, other sports, jobs, and long commutes to games, including the coaches, and especially for those in Barrington, as they have a much longer commute,” says Kenney. “If we make it to regionals or provincials, it would be due to hard work and commitment. We would earn our spot like any other team and we would deserve the opportunity to compete.”
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But SSNS says the rule does ensure that everyone gets to play.
“School Sport Nova Scotia is committed to giving every eligible student a path to sports at school. In this case, we were very happy to have Yarmouth and Barrington schools combine to allow girls from both schools the opportunity to play hockey,” says Higdon. “The combined team can play the same number of league games as every other team, as well as exhibition games.”
But the team also worries other teams won’t always want to travel the distance to Yarmouth in the winter for league and exhibition games that count for nothing.
‘PLEASE RECONSIDER’
Ashlyn Atkinson is a Grade 12 student at Barrington Municipal High School. She was devastated last year when she found out there wasn’t going to be a girls’ hockey team because only seven girls in her school wanted to play.
“I completely thought the days of me playing the sport that I love had come to an end. Then I found out that Yarmouth high school didn’t have enough girls either and we were going to join as one team.”
She called it a great opportunity. She could still play the sport she loves and make new friends. They didn’t win all of their games but had lots of fun. She couldn’t understand why they weren’t allowed to be in the playoffs.
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“We are just a bunch of girls trying to find a way to play the sport that we love. I can’t understand why we could not finish off our season last year,” she says.
Then to be told the same thing this year was doubly disappointing.
“None of us would be playing if the two schools did not combine,” Atkinson says. “Please reconsider this decision.”
Her teammate, Grade 10 student Zoey Churchill, also wishes for an SSNS change of heart.
“The last two years my school did not have enough female players to create a team. Barrington high school was in the same situation. With the support of our coaches, schools and parents we were able to combine our schools to make a team to provide us with the opportunity to play the sport we all love,” says Churchill.
“It’s not our fault that we do not have enough girls that play hockey in our community. We live in a rural part of Nova Scotia and the number of girls around my age that play hockey is minimal.”
She says high school hockey is the only opportunity she has to play female hockey. To be part of another team she’d have to travel hours just for practices alone, which isn’t an ideal option.
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“I feel it is unfair that we are not able to play the full season,” she says.
While it’s never a given that a team will make regionals or provincials, knowing at the outset of your season you’re already out is discouraging.
There have been efforts over the years to grow female hockey in southwestern Nova Scotia in the minor hockey ranks. But when players hit high school they go off in different school directions, decreasing and spreading out their collective numbers.
“We should not be penalized for living in a rural community,” says Churchill. “Every girl deserves a chance to play, to compete and play beyond the regular season.”
Vikings assistant coach Erin Ritchie agrees.
“High school sports often promote values like inclusion, collaboration and fair play. By preventing combined teams from advancing, SSNS sends a message that undermines these values, suggesting that the system caters more to well-resourced schools,” she says. “It also diminishes the value of their hard work, limiting them to exhibition games without meaningful competition.”
Ritchie says it significantly impacts the season’s sense of meaning and fulfillment.
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“Without the opportunity to compete in regionals or provincials, the games feel like they lack a tangible goal or purpose. It is disheartening to invest time, effort, and passion into a season that effectively leads nowhere,” she says. “Watching other teams advance to playoffs only amplifies this frustration.”
Ritchie says rural schools face unique challenges that deserve thoughtful consideration.
Still, while disappointing, the players are making the most of the situation.
“The girls on the team have been nothing but the best. They show up ready to compete, have fun and learn,” says Ritchie. “Many are young and hoping that before their time at high school is over they get a chance to compete at the highest level possible.”
Kiersten Kenney remembers being younger and aspiring to play high school hockey.
“When I had the opportunity to play for the team, I was overjoyed and fell in love with the sport all over again,” she says, encouraging other girls to become involved.
“It’s an incredibly fun and competitive game, with a strong sense of community. Traveling with your friends and family, playing in tournaments, having fun in practice, and playing in games against other competitive teams are some of the most fun moments I’ve had in my high school experience.”
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Coach Breton adds that even with the disappointment hanging over the season, the players are driven, eager to learn and improve, and having fun.
“Sports can be so much more than just something to do. That is what I hope any player I coach experiences,” he says. “I hope they make lots of life-long memories this year and I hope their efforts can be rewarded.”
Adds Breton, “If no change or exception to this rule is made for us this year, I hope there is consideration to do so if there are teams in the future with the same issue, whether it’s us or not. The outlook on female hockey in rural areas is not great and denying the few that are playing every opportunity to see their season through is really discouraging.”
