First girls’ ice hockey tournament held in Chitral
CHITRAL: In the “Parwak” of Tehsil Mastuj of Upper Chitral, a girls’ ice hockey tournament was held for the first time ever in Pakistan.
The competition was staged to offer work for the locals, draw tourists, and ease the emotional strain of those stuck inside their houses due to the extreme cold that is currently gripping the valley.
At minus two degrees Celsius, an ice surface was used for a three-day ice hockey competition that featured 11 games between students from various Chitral educational institutions.
In an interview with The Express Tribune, Muhammad Asif, the event’s organizer, explained that the goal of this unusual game is to encourage kids to participate in sports.
The Bonny Environmental Academy, where students from the seventh grade to second year are taught games like skiing, skating, and ice hockey, among others, has been working on children’s and girls’ sports for two or three years, he continued.
The competition had eleven players, and the games were played at a height of more than 7,000 feet.
Asif added that the outfits alone for the pricey sport of ice hockey cost about Rs50,000. However, he went on to say that “they received a lot of assistance from organizations promoting women’s sports and the district administration, together with the local community.”
Younis, a second organizer who completed the planning on site, told The Express Tribune that it was “a very positive experience.
Children will continue to practice here till February, he said, and ice hockey will not only encourage such sports in the province. The coming of tourists will also help Pakistan project a positive image around the world.
At a height of thousands of feet, many spectators came to see the game. The Aga Khan Rural Support Program and the Canadian Embassy helped organize the competition.
The first women’s ice hockey competition served to promote constructive activities, which was appreciated by representatives of the Canadian High Commission who attended the event as guests.
