From the office of Inline Hockey America:

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: May 12, 2003

INLINE HOCKEY AMERICA ANNOUNCES WOMEN?S ROLLER HOCKEY SERIES
IHA Women?s Challenge Series Kicks Off with Two Cities in 2003

Inline Hockey America is pleased to present the 2003 IHA Women's Challenge (IHAWC) roller hockey series. In an ongoing effort to foster growth and provide opportunities for all inline hockey players, Inline Hockey America is promoting a series of roller hockey events geared specifically toward women players.

For the 2003 season, the Women's Challenge series will feature events in 2 Northeast cities: Boston and Buffalo. The series will eventually expand to include 6 or more events in cities throughout the region, taking place from April through September. IHA has already received interest from Philadelphia, Columbus, Washington, D.C., and New York in hosting events for the 2004 Women?s Challenge series.

Teams earn points based on their finish at each event. The IHA Women's Challenge Trophy will be awarded each year to the team that finishes with the most points. Women's teams, looking to compete at the highest level, can also participate in one or more events without taking part in the entire series. Teams from Connecticut, Washington, D.C., New York, Buffalo, Columbus and Toronto have already expressed interest in participating in the series.

The first event in the 2003 IHAWC series will be held at Greater Boston Indoor Sports (G.B.I.S.) in Revere, Massachusetts on June 28 & 29. The Event is being co-promoted with Greater Boston Indoor Sports in an effort to generate more interest with female roller hockey players in the Boston area and at their facility. There are a number of females who play on co-ed teams in the G.B.I.S. house leagues and it is expected that G.B.I.S. will field at least 2 teams for their event, including a team made up of Northeastern University students.

The second event will be held at the Dann Memorial Rink on the campus of the Nichols School in Buffalo, New York. This event is being co-promoted with the Buffalo Wings Roller Hockey Club. The event, scheduled for August 16 & 17, will be held in conjunction with the Buffalo Wings annual Wings Cup Roller Hockey Tournament. The Buffalo Wings have been a strong supporter of women?s roller hockey and have had a women?s division as part of it?s Wings Cup Tournament for the past several years.

The registration fee for each event in the 2003 series is $475. However, any team that signs up for both events will receive $50 off of each event registration fee. The registration deadline for the Boston event is Monday, June 16, while the deadline to register for event in Buffalo is Monday, August 4. Besides the thrill of playing against other highly competitive women?s teams from across the country, there will be plenty of team and individual prizes at each event.

Complete information on the 2003 IHA Women?s Challenge roller hockey series is now available on the IHA web site at www.inlinehockeyamerica.com. For more information, call the IHA office at (716) 741-1276 or (716) 491-2656. You can also send an e-mail to [email protected].


Benny Gulakiw
President
Inline Hockey America