On This Day: The First Women’s World Ice Hockey Championship Begins – March 19, 1990
March 19, 1990 marked a revolutionary moment in sports history when the puck dropped on the very first IIHF-sanctioned Women’s World Ice Hockey Championship in Ottawa, Canada. This groundbreaking tournament would change women’s hockey forever, establishing it as a legitimate international sport and launching careers that would inspire generations of female athletes.
The Road to Ottawa: Women’s Hockey Before 1990
Women’s ice hockey has roots stretching back well over a century. The first recorded women’s hockey game took place in Barrie, Ontario in 1892, and by the early 1900s, women’s teams were competing across Canada and parts of the United States. Despite this long history, women’s hockey remained largely invisible to the mainstream sports world for decades.
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The modern push for international recognition began in the 1980s. The Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) organized an unofficial world tournament in 1987 in Toronto, drawing teams from six countries. Though not sanctioned by any governing body, this grassroots effort demonstrated that women from around the globe were hungry to compete at the highest level. More than 15,000 spectators attended across the tournament, proving an audience existed.
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The Retro Almanac
A monthly roundup of "on this day" highlights from that month, decades back — plus first dibs on new retro merch drops. No spam, just the good stuff.
