Red Deer College and Westerner Park establish new partnership to provide home for Queens Hockey team.
The RDC Queens Hockey team will start a new chapter this fall, as a partnership between Red Deer College and Westerner Park means the ENMAX Centrium will be the team’s new home for the next two years.
“This is a positive partnership that will benefit our team, and it will also promote women’s hockey in Red Deer,” says Kelly Coulter, RDC Queens Head Coach. “We’re very pleased to partner with Westerner Park to establish our new home at the ENMAX Centrium.” Coulter notes that the move will provide the team with guaranteed ice time for home games and practice times that complement the student athletes’ academic schedules, as well as a dedicated dressing room for the team.
The Queens have been housed at the Red Deer Arena, but the upcoming demolition of this facility meant that RDC Athletics had to look for other options for the team. The new agreement with Westerner Park will cover the timeframe from August, 2016, until the end of the hockey season in March of 2018. When the new Gary W. Harris Centre for Health, Wellness & Sport opens in the fall of 2018, the Queens Hockey team will move to its permanent home.
“We’re proud to work with Red Deer College to support the Queens Hockey team,” says Ben Antifaiff, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager at Westerner Park. “We are committed to serving our community and celebrate the opportunity to have the RDC Queen’s call our facility home for the next two seasons.”
The move will also provide new opportunities for the players to practice and host games in a world-class venue. “It’s so meaningful that we’ll soon be at a facility like the ENMAX Centrium,” says Suze Vanderlinde, co-captain of the RDC Queens Hockey team. “It will be an exciting change for myself and other returning players, and it will provide a great opportunities for new players who are just joining the team.”
For more information on RDC Athletics, visit www.rdc.ab.ca/athletics.