UW’s women’s hockey player Leah Herrfort was selected in early December to participate in the 2025 FISU Winter Games. Herrfort will be joining 21 other student-athletes as they travel to Torino, Italy to represent Canada and U Sports in the World University Games.
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) is an international sports federation founded in 1949. On a bi-annual basis, FISU offers the opportunity to world-class student-athletes, ranging in ages from 17-25, to compete on an international stage. FISU currently has over 160 member organizations with representatives from five continents. The 2025 FISU Winter World University games are taking place in Italy’s Piemonte region, and are set to begin on Jan. 13 and wrap up on Jan. 23. The FISU games are similar to the Olympics, but on a smaller scale and solely for university student-athletes, allowing them to represent their countries on an international stage.
Herrfort is no stranger to the FISU international spotlight – she was a part of the Canadian team that was able to capture gold at the 2023 FISU International Games held in Lake Placid, N.Y. Herrfort was a major contributor to the team’s overall success, tallying seven points across seven games. The Canadians will look to lean on Herrfort to not only be a strong contributor on the ice, but to also provide leadership and guidance. Herrfort is one of the only two players returning from that 2023 gold-medal team. Coming off a dominating 2023 performance being named OUA Player of the Year, and continuing that success, assisting the Warriors to be sitting at the top of the OUA West, it seemed like a no-brainer to include Herrfort on a team comprised of Canada’s top female student-athletes as far as ice hockey goes.
The 2025 FISU World University Winter Games will feature eight teams competing for gold in Women’s Ice Hockey: Canada, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Japan, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Chinese Taipei and the United States.
On Jan. 11, the Canadians opened play with a matchup against Chinese Taipei. The Canadians posted a dominating win scoring a total of 16 goals and knocking Chinese Taipei off 16-0. Herrfort had a standout performance accounting for three goals and one assist. On Jan. 13, the Canadians posted another winning performance, knocking off The United Kingdom 14-0. Herrfort once again had a strong performance, accounting for two goals and two assists.
The Canadians will look to carry on this momentum as they get set for a much tougher matchup against Slovakia set to take place Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Central European Standard Time (or 2 p.m. Eastern Standard time). This will officially mark the end of pool play for FISU women’s hockey. Upon completion of pool play, teams will be based on seeded for elimination and meddling opportunities. The Canadians will have their eyes set on competing for the gold medal on Jan. 20. Click here to watch all live FISU sporting events, and here for results and scheduled times.
