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I turned 40 years old the year we moved to the small but beautiful mountain Village of Haines Junction, Yukon.  We rented a house alongside a creek while we built our log home in the Village.

In the winter evenings, I would go out onto the makeshift arena on the creek & play some shinny hockey with my husband and two boys, aged 6 & 8. I quickly fell in love with the game!  My husband suggested I join him in the Oldtimers’ Hockey time slot and it was a whole new world opened to me!

I was quickly involved in organizing Minor Hockey in the community as our boys moved through the various levels. As they got into their teens it became apparent to me that the female players fell through the cracks at about the bantam level, which was the start of contact hockey. I decided to resurrect an all-female division and adapted the name St. Elias Dalls, which had been used many years before. Before long we had the biggest enrollment in our MH Divisions with over 20 young girls (aged 13+) and women joining the group. It is still going strong!

I also organized two annual events that are still very popular today (in Non-Covid times). Our Annual Female Jamboree is held at the end of January and is looked forward to by women/girls from various Yukon communities. The Annual Homecoming Tourney, held between Christmas & New Year’s, provides a venue for family members to play together in a one-day tourney through the holiday season. Both events have been well attended for over 25 years now.

Now, at age 74 I am delighted to be playing hockey with both my daughters-in-law and my five grandchildren!  I hope I lead by example that if you keep fit & healthy & involved there are no limits to what you can achieve.

Valerie joined by her five grandchildren

Three generations of Drummonds suited up together for a game, a dream come true for Valerie