MONTREAL, Que. – Hockey Canada has introduced BFL CANADA as a new international marketing partner, a five-year agreement through 2024 that will focus on growth and development opportunities for female players and coaches.
BFL CANADA, a long-time supporter of women’s hockey, will become the title sponsor of training, evaluation and selection camps for Canada’s National Women’s Team, Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team. The camps serve as a key component for the coaching staff as it looks to identify and develop the players who will compete on the international stage.
“In sports as in business, surpassing yourself, being disciplined and working as part of a team are essential values,” said Barry F. Lorenzetti, president and CEO of BFL CANADA. “All athletes from beginners to Olympic champions have one thing in common – passion. BFL CANADA wants to be part of this journey by funding these initiatives and encouraging others to join us. Today, the future of women’s hockey is a little brighter.”
“We are proud to welcome BFL CANADA to our family of corporate partners and look forward to collaborating to encourage participation in sport through grassroots programming and coaching opportunities,” said Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer with Hockey Canada. “With its on-going support of the Hockey Canada Foundation, this partnership will be beneficial to females in hockey and have a positive impact on both players and coaches given our mutual goal to promote and inspire females in sport.”
BFL CANADA also announced a new initiative to recognize women in coaching. As title sponsor of the Female Coaches of the Year program, BFL CANADA will recognize two female coaches, one high performance and one grassroots/community, from each province and the northern territories and will select from among them a national winner in each category to acknowledge and celebrate their contributions to the game.
“We are very fortunate to have our alumnae return to our program and coach the next generation of players starting at the under-18 level,” said Gina Kingsbury, director of women’s national teams with Hockey Canada. “We take pride in providing resources and mentorship opportunities in order for them to coach and inspire females to play and compete at the highest level.”
BFL CANADA will also support female grassroots hockey as the presenting sponsor of the IIHF World Girls’ Hockey Weekend, Oct. 4-6, as well as the IIHF Global Girls’ Game next February. BFL CANADA will also be a partner of the IIHF Women’s World Championship through 2024, starting in Halifax and Truro, N.S., in 2020.
About BFL CANADA
Founded in 1987 by Barry F. Lorenzetti, BFL CANADA is one of the largest employee-owned and operated risk management, insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting services firms in Canada. The firm has a team of over 700 professionals located in 18 offices across the country. BFL CANADA is a founding partner of Lockton Global LLP, a partnership of independent insurance brokers who provide risk management, insurance and benefits consulting services in over 130 countries around the world. For more information, visit bflcanada.ca or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
About Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada is the governing body for hockey in Canada and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), with a membership through its 13 member associations of over 750,000 players, coaches and officials. Hockey Canada is a not-for-profit organization that creates leading-edge hockey development programs for its members to deliver in communities across Canada; provides consistent rules and regulations and various other membership services from coast to coast to coast; manages numerous regional, national and international hockey championships and events; and leads the operation of all teams that represent Canada in international competition. Hockey Canada’s mission is to lead, develop and promote positive hockey experiences. For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook and Twitter.