Sarah Nurse: Olympic Barbie

Sarah Nurse was the first Black woman to ever play in an Olympic hockey final. Now, as part of the PWHPA, Nurse (who recently inspired an official Barbie doll in her image) has become a role model for the game’s next generation.

Show Notes

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we at Barrier Breakers wanted to celebrate one of the most inspiring and outspoken women in our game: Hamilton’s own Sarah Nurse.

As Sarah says off the top of our episode, “It's difficult for women and women of colour to get into hockey because there are so many people telling us that we can't and that we shouldn't.”

We’ve talked a lot in this series about the importance of representation in hockey. Until you start seeing players like yourself in the NHL, or on the Olympic stage, it’s tough to truly believe you can make it there. But representation doesn’t come without a fight.

Whether it’s said out loud, or communicated in subtle ways, the Game doesn’t always welcome everyone in with open arms. And no one knows this better than the pioneers of women’s hockey. The world of Hockey celebrates the women’s game now—greats like Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford, Angela James, and Cammi Granato are all rightfully in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

But in the 1950s, a nine year-old Toronto girl named Abby Hoffman had to cut her hair and register as ‘Abe’—a boy—because there was nowhere for women to play. 

Almost forty years later, the women’s game had triumphantly grown enough to warrant the creation of a World Championship. The first one took place right here in Toronto, in 1987. But the International Ice Hockey Federation—our sport’s governing body—didn’t even want to recognize it at first. It’s been a fight. And yet, the women’s game has never been better. The calibre of play on offer today is exceptional.

At the time we recorded this episode, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association Dream Gap Tour had just made history, rolling into Madison Square Garden. Since then, it has also touched down in Chicago. Join Auston Matthews, Billie Jean-King, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and many more and put a stick in the ground in support of professional women’s hockey. If boys can dream of playing professional hockey, why can’t girls? The times, they are a changin’. And we are very excited that the Maple Leafs have partnered with the PWHPA to be a part of that change.

To learn more about the Dream Gap Tour and how you can Put a Stick in the Ground, visit here.

A very big thank you to Sarah for taking the time with us, speaking so candidly about her story and her hopes and dreams for the future of the game. Give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter.

This has been our fifth episode of Barrier Breakers, our celebration of the amazing Black men, women, players and community organizers who are changing our game for the better. 

‘Breaking Barriers’ was co-created by us here at Leafs Forever and Akil Augustine. Today's episode was written by Scott Willats and Paul Matthews, produced by Renita Bangert and Katie Jensen of Vocal Fry Studios for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Further thanks to digital producer Emily Latimer and Executive Producer Michael Gelfand.  

If you liked the episode, tell people about it. And write us a review. Your feedback is always welcome. Especially on this series. Help us think about this issue in new and interesting ways, and if you have story suggestions for the types of things we should be talking about, let us know.