The Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association provides residents of the Greater Toronto Area with exceptional female hockey programming. The TLGHA is one of Ontario’s largest hockey associations for women and girls, with over 1,600 participants ranging in age three to sixty years old in our Youth and Senior Learn to Play, House League and Competitive programs. We also offer power skating, high performance and bootcamps to keep our players in top shape throughout the year.
Our Youth House League comprises over 30 teams from U9 to U18. Our Senior House League has 14 teams playing in our Slapshot and NonSlapshot divisions.
On the Competitive side, the Toronto Leaside Wildcats ice 30 teams at all levels from U9 to U18, competing in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League – Southern Division.
We also have three senior Wildcat teams (AA, BB and C) playing in the Toronto-based Golden Blades league.
Our Intermediate (Junior) team competes at the highest level in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
Vision, Mission, Core Beliefs and Principles
Our vision is to engage young women in hockey in an effort to build a commitment to healthy active living and a love of sport that will carry them into adulthood. Through sport we empower girls and women by building self-confidence and leadership skills.
Our mission is to deliver the highest quality of female hockey through a range of recreational, developmental and competitive programs that support the needs of players from age 4 through adult.
Our core beliefs are what make hockey programming at TLGHA so special:
1. Excellence in all programs, association operations and events, from house league to our tournament.
2. There is place for you at TLGHA regardless of ability, age, gender, religion, etc.
3. Accountability, accessibility and financial stability
Our principles guide our program objectives and priorities:
1. Provide excellent hockey programming for our members and community.
2. Ensure a safe environment to learn, play, and compete.
3. Create leadership opportunities for members through team play, coaching, officiating and mentoring/role modeling.
4. Advocate and protect the framework for girls and women’s hockey, the opportunities it provides, and equitable funding required to support the necessary programs.
5. Be a strong contributor to the neighborhood and other hockey communities.
6. Act in a manner that upholds and advances the already excellent reputation women’s hockey has in Canada.
7. Strong governance that ensures accessibility, accountability, trust and financial stability.
Player Development
The TLGHA has a demonstrated commitment to player development, beginning at the grassroots level. We have over 400 players in our FUNdamentals, Learn-to-Play, U7, U9 & U11 house league programs, which provide a strong foundation for our next generation of competitive hockey players.
All players in U7 and above have access to weekly skills development sessions in addition to their weekly team practices. The association also provides goalie equipment and weekly goalie instruction to all interested house league players, helping us to maintain a pipeline of goaltenders to support our house league and 20+ competitive teams.
Women in Leadership
The TLGHA prides itself on its commitment to having women in leadership roles in our organization. Every team in our organization (competitive and house league) has at least one woman in a leadership role on the team staff. Our older competitive Wildcats (in U18 and U15) are offered the opportunity to certify as referees, and many players volunteer as coaches and instructors in our house league.
We believe that creating leadership roles for women in hockey is central to the long-term success of the sport. Joan Padmore, a longtime board member and TLGHA volunteer, was a driving force behind this vision.
Building for the Future of Female Hockey in Toronto
In 2011–2012 we enjoyed the fruits of a year-long fight for ice allocation equity in the City of Toronto. A dedicated committee of board members had worked tirelessly throughout 2009 and 2010 to make our municipal government accountable for the manner in which ice time at city arenas was being allocated. The TLGHA, like many associations, was not receiving an allocation commensurate with its membership size; as a result, we were forced to lease large blocks of ice time at very expensive private arenas. Our persistent messaging resulted in a victory for youth hockey throughout the city, with all associations—boys’ and girls’ leagues—now receiving ice time at city rinks consistent with their number of registered players.
The TLGHA is committed to making the game accessible and affordable to all families: this is a core tenet of our ice equity initiative, which has seen children gain more access to affordable, prime-time city ice.
The 2013–2014 season saw the Association enjoy the rewards of a multi-year fundraising effort to help finance the refurbishment of Leaside Memorial Gardens and the construction of a second pad. With the opening of the new rink, we now have a spectacular modern facility that the Wildcats are proud to call home. The hockey and figure skating communities in Leaside raised over $3 million to help offset the cost of this facility—a true testament to the passion and commitment of our local community.
We welcome back our returning members and welcome all new players to our association.
