By Simon Hopkins
Ottawa Pride Hockey’s four teams will play in its own division of a recreational hockey league in Ottawa starting in the fall. The LGBTQ2S+ organization has two teams currently competing in a men’s rec league, but is growing as more Queers lace up their skates.
Ottawa Pride Hockey co-founder and player Kat Ferguson is excited about the popularity of the relatively young sports group. It was inspired by a trip Ferguson took with a friend to Boston to participate in a Queer hockey tournament.
It wasn’t a new venture for Ferguson, who has played hockey their entire life and never felt unable to participate because of their identity. But now they felt immediately at ease and accepted playing on Team Trans.
“It was something that I didn’t know I needed, but it was just such a relief not to be worried about stuff like surgery scars or people asking who your spouse is and feeling like you have to lie,” they said.
Ferguson began Ottawa Pride Hockey’s drop-in pickup games in 2019; since then, the organization has grown. After the pandemic, the group has hosted learn-to-play clinics, and its team has joined an Ottawa recreational league division.
“We opened our registration, and we filled up all four teams within a matter of hours,” said Ferguson. They’re super excited about the community’s enthusiasm towards Pride hockey’s future in Ottawa.
“I get so much joy out of bringing people back to the sport because they didn’t feel like they had a safe space to play for years, and introducing new adults into the sport when they never felt that they had a space,” said Ferguson.
Growing popularity in curling
Ottawa Pride Hockey isn’t the only group taking to capital ice in the winters.
Ottawa’s Rainbow Rockers have been sliding on the ice at the Ottawa Curling Club for twenty years. The club has been home to the LGBTQ2S+ curling league since it consisted of just a few teams in the early years. Now, the league has 42 teams and a waiting list of eager spares.
“We have about 175 curlers and then probably 15 more people on the spares list,” league president Kevin Horwood told KT. “It’s been a very successful league.”
The teams of four are broken into divisions based on skill, so players compete against others at a similar level. The friendly competition allows teams to progress to higher divisions, but at the end of the day, the Rainbow Rockers are about having fun in a loving environment.
Kitchissippi resident Chad Buffel has curled with the rockers for over 10 years. He had never curled before joining the league and was hesitant to do so, but encouragement from some friends, already Rockers themselves, convinced him.
Buffel said he lacked any curling skill to start but progressed with time. Now, he’s an experienced curler with an eye for the game’s strategy.
Unfortunately, sports teams aren’t always an environment friendly to those in the LGBTQ2S+ community. Buffel told KT he didn’t always feel comfortable in sports settings.
“When dealing with sports teams, some of the banter and teasing sometimes would make me feel uncomfortable,” he said. He said that sports can be an environment where people are unsure how being openly gay may be received.
The Rainbow Rockers is a safe space, and Buffel said that those community activities where there’s no fear of being out are important.
“It’s a signal to the LGBTQ2S+ community that there’s a space you can be a part of and feel comfortable,” Buffel said.