Westmoreland Upper Elementary students filed into their school gymnasium on Tuesday as members of the Utica University women’s ice hockey team lined up to give them high fives.
On the unseasonably warm February day that hinted at spring’s approach, the hockey players hand-delivered hundreds of International Ice Hockey Federation activity books, packets of primary-colored crayons and IIHF stickers to those students.
The IIHF Women’s World Championship tournament will be held at the Utica University Nexus Center from April 3 to April 14, featuring the 10 best teams from around the world facing off on the ice.
According to the IIHF website, the United States has made it to the gold-medal game in all 22 of the past tournaments. The team took home gold in six of the last eight competitions.
Forward Erica Sheaffer of the Utica Pioneers hockey team is a New Hartford native who is thrilled to see the tournament arrive in the Mohawk Valley.
“I think it’s just an incredible opportunity,” Sheaffer said. “I’ve been a New Yorker all my life, and seeing hockey grow as it does in Utica is just amazing to me. Having the tournament here – and it’s only been held in the country four times – and having it here in my hometown, it’s just extraordinary.”
Education and fun
In addition to the Westmoreland Upper Elementary recipients, students in grades 2 through 6 at 55 schools throughout the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison and the Madison-Oneida BOCES School Districts received IIHF activity books on Tuesday.
The books feature flags from all 10 countries participating in the tournament for students to color, a maze, an outline of the rules of ice hockey and more.
The books will provide starting points for students to learn more about the other countries, like Denmark, Sweden and China, from which the tournament teams hail. Students throughout the districts will attend selected games in the tournament.
“We are so fortunate to have an event like this happening in our region. It gives our students the chance to learn more about women in sports, the challenges they face and what it’s like to be a woman who plays a sport,” said Superintendent Rocco Migliori of Westmoreland Central School District in a statement. “This activity book will not only help prepare our kids for the championship game, but it will also teach them about countries, where they’re located and the rules of hockey. We are so grateful our students have the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible…
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