The City of Surrey is proud to announce today a partnership with one of the top female hockey players of all time, Hayley Wickenheiser, to bring the The Canadian Tire Wickenheiser World Female Hockey Festival (affectionately known as WickFest) to Surrey on January 31 to Feb 3rd of 2019.
The economic impact for the City to host WickFest is significant as approximately $1.25 million will be injected into the local economy in both 2019 and 2020, with a projected impact of $2.8 million annually in the years that follow.
“Hosting an event of this magnitude is a perfect fit for Surrey,” said Mayor Linda Hepner. “As a City that takes great pride in our world class sporting facilities, WickFest is a wonderful showcase for female hockey players of all ages to come to Surrey to not only play, but celebrate Canada’s game.”
WickFest, which is going into its 9th successful year, has grown continuously year over year and will proudly hold its 10th event in Surrey. The Calgary event currently hosts 120 teams, with more than 200 applying each year for the event. It was time to grow into new markets.
“Surrey was a natural fit for us. The City has great facilities now, and even better ones coming online in the coming years, and it’s a hockey-hungry community in the Lower Mainland,” said Hayley Wickenheiser, 4-time gold medal Olympic hockey champion. “Surrey is a City with vision and a gold medal spirit, so we were naturally drawn to that.”
I am pleased to announce that Hayley Wickenheiser, one of the most decorated female hockey players of all time, will be...
Posted by Linda Hepner on Thursday, 22 March 2018
“The purpose of this tournament is to create an international summit of the female game for girls of all ages and skills levels,” said Wickenheiser. “WickFest isn’t just a hockey tournament, as anyone who has ever attended would tell you. It’s a celebration of the game, the girls who play it, and their potential.”
While the tournament is important, WickFest is rounded out by several off-ice components such as several clinics and workshops that don’t just focus on developing the athlete, but developing the attendees who take part off the ice too.
The sessions are delivered by the best-of-best in their fields and often include Olympians, NHLers and world-class experts that would otherwise be unreachable. Sessions are offered to the players, their parents, their siblings, the officials, coaches and everyone involved and topics may include issues such as sleep, nutrition, financial management, leadership, public speaking, vision testing, concussion analysis and more.
WickFest aligns with the City of Surrey’s Sport Tourism Strategy and the Sport Surrey vision, which was developed to advance Surrey as a leader in the Sport Tourism industry and to maximize both economic benefits and sport development opportunities for the residents and businesses of Surrey.
Read Hayley Wickenheiser’s cover story here
