Waterloo to host U SPORTS women’s hockey championship for second year in a row

After an announcement on Oct. 16 from U SPORTS, UW is set to host the 2026 Women’s Hockey Championship in Elmira for the second year in a row.  

The planning for this back-to-back championship has been an ongoing project for the school and started when the university originally put a bid in to host the 2024 and 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championships. Initially only being awarded 2025 back in January, it was a great achievement for Waterloo to then be later awarded 2026 as well. 

“Doing the event twice just makes it a lot easier to show the opportunities and the success and be able to work with minor sports. And really, as you do it, you learn from it and become better for the next year,” said Ari Grossman, associate director of business operations for athletics and recreation at Waterloo.  

The decision to bid for the Women’s Hockey Championship came from the recent increase in success from Waterloo’s women’s hockey team and also the development of women’s hockey in the Waterloo region, said Grossman. 

This event is expected to garner national attention and is set to take place at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira rather than the Columbia Icefield in Waterloo due to the need for extra space to accommodate the event.  

UW and U SPORTS have also announced that NHL official, Garret Rank, will be the Honorary Chair for both the 2025 and 2026 Hockey Championships. Originating from Elmira and being a Waterloo alumnus, Rank will be bringing more attention to the championship and help to showcase the small community involved in this event.    

The fundraising initiative for the upcoming championships, “See them, be them” is aiming to provide role modelling opportunities for girls’ hockey.    

“We are working with the Minor Sports Association and with some other programmes, whether it’s allowing our hockey team members to participate with practices and engage with them or bringing some coach clinics as well as providing fundraising opportunities and hopefully developing legacy opportunities for girls’ hockey within the region,” Grossman said.  

Waterloo is looking ahead to the future and hopes to be able to take on more opportunities of this scale going forward. Many personnel are required for any event this size as the university is continuously looking for volunteers and people who are interested in the championship to help out and get involved.