Chapter Text
Svetlana trailed her fingers along Rose’s collarbone, seeking comfort in being curled up with her girlfriend.
“We need to do something,” Svetlana broke the silence with the words they had both been thinking.
“I know,” Rose said quietly.
“This isn’t sustainable.”
“I know.”
“We need help.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“Yes, we really do,” Rose agreed.
24 Hours Earlier
Rose checked both ways on the street as she crossed at a gap in the busy Worcester traffic, flashing a smile at a speeding driver who stopped before hitting her. Thank God for right of way or whatever. After eight years living in Massachusetts, she was used to New England drivers, and Worcester had nothing on Boston. It was a far cry from the Michigan suburbs she had grown up in, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“And you know that I can’t actually be seen on the call with you,” Rose confirmed, her phone wedged between her shoulder and cheek as she fumbled with the apartment building door. She could hear the exasperation in Svetlana’s voice as she replied.
“Yes, rodnaya, of course I know this. You will just be moral support in the room. And first to hear announcement so we can discuss after.” The they would not care if they knew we were dating anyways remained unspoken but the sentiment came through. She was probably right, but Rose thought her caution was justified. This league had always been all talk and no action, and there weren’t enough out lesbians players to gauge their reaction.
“Alright, yeah,” Rose agreed, setting her bag down so she could push up on the elevator. “It’s gotta be good news, right? Expansion maybe?”
There was rustling on the other end of the line as Svetlana moved around. Rose was pretty sure she was on speaker.
“Higher salaries would be nice,” Svetlana mused.
Rose snorted at that notion. “Yeah right, that’ll be the day.”
“They must have money, with such a great season? People are watching!”
“You don’t have to argue with me, we all know people love the game.” They had been advocating for what felt like her entire career to get women’s professional hockey to the place that it deserved, and this last season finally felt like they were on to something. There had been talks of merging the Canadian and American leagues (something Rose was in full support of, they would be much stronger as a united front, not to mention playing on the same league as her girlfriend), and she was still riding the high of winning Gold in Pyeongchang last Olympics.
The elevator doors opened and Rose stepped inside, pushing the button for Svetlana’s floor.
“I’m coming up right now, see you in a second,” she said into the phone.
“Ok, love you!” Svetlana’s cheery voice came through.
“Love you.” Rose was grinning as she ended the call and grabbed her bag. The best thing in her life besides hockey was Svetlana, and she got giddy every time they had a night to themselves. This one would be cut short since they both had early flights to Finland for Worlds, and she was determined to make the most of it after the CWHF call. They were surviving medium distance, but living an hour apart after their college days of playing on the same team and living together was still difficult.
Rose couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for other relationships in the league, she knew of at least two that were a days drive apart. She had driven those drives several times with the team, and they weren’t fun. At least with herself in Boston and Svetlana in Worcester, they got to see each other often and spend weekends together, even though being in separate leagues meant they didn’t get to play against each other.
If either of the league paid them more than 5K a season, they could have stayed in the same city, but the stipend that only just covered extra equipment and travel expenses meant they both had full time jobs in addition to hockey. Jobs that, while flexible, did require going to the office several times a week. So Svetlana had moved to Worcester after graduation for her sports journalism job, and Rose stayed in Boston doing social media and marketing work for their alma mater. If they couldn’t truly be professional hockey players, having hockey related careers in addition to the league was as good as it got.
Rose’s dream was to play on the same team as her girlfriend, but she expected it to take years for that to happen, if it happened at all. If this meeting contained any kind of good news, however, that dream could be closer to becoming a reality.
The elevator doors opened and Rose took the last few steps to Svetlana’s door as it opened before she knocked. Svetlana stood smiling at her in the doorway, looking beautiful in her business casual wear, her big eyes framed by dark lashes.
“Why hello there,” Svetlana greeted Rose teasingly. They had seen each other just last week, but it felt like forever ago.
She took Rose’s bag and pressed her up against the wall to kiss her, setting the bag down and lifting her hands to cradle Rose’s face. Rose lifted her arms to circle them behind Svetlana’s head, melting into the embrace. She had missed this, always missed this. The safety and comfort of being with her best friend and partner.
They had to break apart much too soon as the call was scheduled for 10:00 (way too early for a league wide call if anyone asked Rose), and Svetlana set up her laptop on the desk in her office while Rose sat down on the floor, out of view of the camera. It wouldn’t be a good look to be seen listening in on a private call in an opposing league, no matter what Svetlana said.
Rose took in the hockey books and memorabilia on the office shelves from the new angle on the floor as she waited for the call to load. She wrapped her hand around Svetlana’s ankle in nervous anticipation.
Svetlana, like all the other players in the semi-professional women’s hockey league had received a mysterious email yesterday stating their mandatory attendance at an online conference call this morning, and Svetlana had called Rose immediately as they speculated what it could be about. CWHF finals had just wrapped up with great attendance, and since both leagues were now paying (meager) salaries and had decent viewership, it seemed only natural that a merger was in progress. Rose wasn’t sure what that would mean for Worcester and Boston, teams that would surely be combined, but both her and Svetlana’s status as regulars on championship and Olympic teams didn’t leave her worried about them making the cut. Maybe there would even be an expansion team or two. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself, but a united league just seemed so inevitable. Could it really be announced today?
It seemed GMs, coaches, and players’ association heads were already on the call, and the chair of the board of directors wasted no time as he opened the league-wide meeting.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to join the call this morning,” his gruff voice came through the laptop, and Rose could just see him shuffling with papers as she craned her neck. Tiny squares with the faces of other players and coaches could be made out, and she recognized most of them, including Alexandra McDougall, Captain of the Montreal team and one of the players association leaders, Kacey Gilles of Calgary, and Joelle Johnson, an equipment manager from Markham.
“Before we begin, please refrain from asking questions in this meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to make an announcement, and questions can be fielded to management.” Suspicious start, Rose thought, considering that all of management were in the same meeting as themselves. Clarity was obviously not the priority of the league. Then again, it never had been.
There was more shuffling, and the chair cleared his throat. Rose sat up straighter from her position on the floor, reaching up to grab Svetlana’s hand. Her fingers were freezing.
“The board of directors has convened, and we have decided unanimously to dissolve the Canadian Women’s Hockey Federation league, effective May 1st.”
“Oh my God?” Rose thought she had prepared herself, but obviously not well enough. This meeting was supposed to be good news, for Christ’s sake.
“What the fuck.” Svetlana had spoken in a deadpan, mouth open and eyes wide.
Rose thought her ears might be ringing. She found herself on her feet without remembering standing up. Her hand in Svetlana’s was like a death grip.
“What the fuck,” Svetlana repeated.
Rose looked at her, then at the screen with all the hockey players, then back at the shell shocked face of Svetlana.
She opened her mouth, not entirely sure what words would come out.
“Did I hear that right?” Her voice sounded far away to her own ears. The league? Dissolving? She felt like she had gotten knocked into the boards, her lungs struggling to take a breath.
“He’s saying something,” Svetlana gestured toward the screen where the Chair was indeed still talking. Rose forced her attention back to the call.
“-feel that we do not have enough resources at this time, despite continued advancement. We encourage you to seek opportunities in other leagues, and hope that this will lead to further development of the CWHF. Maybe North America’s only big enough for one league, eh?”
No one on the screen laughed or cracked a smile at the abysmal joke. Eva Pacenti, a forward from Markham, looked like she was about to pass out. Several players looked to be crying. Even more players looked ready to punch something, Emma Runalls of Calgary among them. Brooklyn Heldman, the captain for Svetlana’s team, had a twisted up smile on her face, as if this was some kind of cruel joke. The GMs looked confused, the coaches crushed. Rose felt like all of them combined.
The chair closed out his remarks with words that Rose didn’t bother listening to. Svetlana closed her laptop and opened her arms. Rose didn’t hesitate to collapse into her lap.
“Dissolving the league?” She felt wildly thrown. “I thought we were making progress.”
Svetlana pressed their foreheads together, her breathing picking up pace.
“I can’t fucking believe it. What the fuck.” She murmured something else in Russian that Rose didn’t understand, but would bet anything was more confused exploitive.
The anguish was undeniable in her voice. “We’ve given everything to this league. All of the girls. Us.” Svetlana gestured between them. “We’ve been good, no?” She raised her head to look at Rose, scanning her face. “We’ve done everything we could. Played well, played hard. Those were good hockey games. People watched!”
Rose nodded mindlessly. Svetlana was completely correct.
“And now they’re collapsing the league? Over some stupid audit?” There was fire in her eyes.
“Not enough sponsorships,” Rose said numbly. “Too divided.” A bullshit reason if she had ever heard one. They didn’t believe in women’s hockey, still, even after a decade of the CWHF and years of being in the Olympics.
“Nobody watches women’s sports,” Svetlana said bitterly. “It’s not a problem for soccer, or tennis, or fucking gymnastics.”
Rose’s head was still spinning. “What about the NWHF? This can’t be good. Is it going down too?”
“According to the Chair of Spineless Directors, this will be a great positive for them, give them more players, more sponsorships,” Svetlana scoffed.
They had wanted one united league, but not like this. If one league collapsed, what was stopping the NWHF from doing the same.
“And we were just getting paid, too,” Svetlana mourned. They were both silent for a moment, processing.
“Fuck, Rose, what the fuck do we do?”
There wasn’t much that they could do.
Rose stood up from Svetlana’s lap, trying to collect herself and think of solutions. “You’ve gotta call the girls. Brooklyn, Gilles, whoever you can get a hold of. I’ll do the same on my end. We need to be on the same page about this. Did the league already announce it? Because if not, we need to go to the media. Fuck, what the hell.” She paced the small office while Svetlana got out her phone, opened Twitter.
“Yes, the announcement is up,” Svetlana confirmed. “I don’t even want to read it. People are going crazy in the replies. Pizdets.” She looked up at Rose, who stopped her pacing. “So its official. The CWHF is gone. I have no league. Me, and all the girls.” She sounded hollow.
Rose crossed over to her, grabbing Svetlana’s hand to ground her. “Call Brook and Alex. We’ll make a game plan.”
She crouched down, wiping her thumbs under Svetlana’s eyes tenderly “We’ll figure something out, Sveta. We always do. They can’t stop us from playing.” She forced as much fire into her voice as she could.
It wasn’t without precedent. Women’s Hockey hadn’t even been in the Olympics when she was born, and the CWHF hadn’t been founded until she was in middle school. She was part of the generation lucky enough to go straight to semi professional leagues after the NCAA, not forced into retirement and beer leagues like the women before her. They were making strides, advancing the game. One league collapse wouldn’t halt all of that. Rose was sure this had happened to sports before them, and it would happen to sports after them. Hell, maybe this twisted situation could turn into a good thing.
“They can’t stop us from playing,” Svetlana repeated with more confidence in her tone. “We will keep playing. Okay. I’ll call them.” She gave Rose a brief, hard kiss before rising, phone out as she dialed the players association leaders.
Rose followed her into the open living room and kitchen, staying on the couch to make her own calls as Svetlana went out to the balcony.
The afternoon was a blur of phone calls and text messages, interrupted only by Svetlana making protein shakes for the both of them before returning to calls. After talking to some of the other Canadian league players, there were the GMs and coaches to call. With some players already in Europe for the IIHF championship, Svetlana had shouldered some of the communication duties, trying to ensure that everyone was on the same page. Rose set up a spreadsheet with notes on where each player and staff member were at and what next steps they wanted to take. She wanted to stay useful and help the best she could. Her league wasn’t the one that had just ended, but this collapse would have serious consequences for all of women’s hockey.
She called and texted players in the American league, making plans to talk over everything more at Worlds. Everyone had different ideas of solutions and next steps, but there was a unanimous consensus that unity was most important, and they all needed to convene after the tournament.
The calls went into the evening, and Svetlana hung up from the last one and simply draped herself over Rose on the couch, formless and unmoving. Rose was very grateful they were both already packed for flying out tomorrow. After several minutes of sitting in silence, recovering, Rose grabbed the remote. The catchup sex they’d been planning wasn’t happening tonight, so a movie and early sleep were the best they could do after this atrocious day.
The X-Files movie did its job of easing stress with its comfortable familiarity, and Rose could feel the tension leave Svetlana as the movie progressed. The only thing she said near the end was a huffing “Thank God my Visa was not tied to the CWHF, eh?”
Rose blinked. She hadn’t even thought about how this might be influencing international players immigration status. She was pretty sure all of them had regular jobs, so hopefully they hadn’t been affected.
“Hard to get a work visa from an org that doesn’t even give health insurance, am I right?” she quipped. This got a smile from Svetlana, and she adjusted herself in Rose’s arms more securely. They had been extremely fortunate to both find hockey adjacent jobs in nearby cities following graduation, jobs that provided a livable paycheck and health insurance, unlike the leagues they poured every spare minute into.
“Can you imagine if it was tied to the league, though?” Svetlana shuddered, no doubt imagining forced expulsion from the States.
Rose bent down to kiss her. “It’d be okay, babe, I’d marry you for the Visa.”
Svetlana quirked an eyebrow, smiling. “Oh, only for the visa? I see how it is.”
Rose kissed her again, longer this time. “I’d marry you for anything,” she said softly as she pulled away.
Svetlana’s eyes went soft in the way they only did when she looked at Rose, and Rose was hit with a wave of gratitude for this girl, for their relationship that let them weather crises like today together.
“I can’t wait to marry you someday,” Svetlana murmured, and Rose let herself melt, determined to soak in every second of this moment among the chaos.
Svetlana made one final phone call of the night to Alex McDougall, catching her up on the communications she had had with players and staff all day. Rose got ready for bed and snuggled underneath the comforter to wait for her.
Nearly an hour had passed before Svetlana ended the call and opened the bedroom door.
“What did she say? What’s the run down?-” Rose rolled over to look at her.
Svetlana sighed, stepping into the room and setting her phone down on the bedside table. “What I expected, pretty much. Some of the girls are talking about saving it, working with the GMs maybe. Some people mentioned combining with the NWHF, or finding other owners. Apparently they went to the government? Did you know that?”
Rose shook her head despite the limited motion from laying on her side. “That’s surprising.”
“Apparently they’ve funded women’s sports stuff in the past, I don’t know.” Svetlana was in the bathroom now, washing her face and starting her nighttime routine.
Rose raised her voice to be heard over the running water. “Do they think a resurrection with new management is actually possible? The board seemed pretty certain about its demise.”
Svetlana stepped out of the bathroom, patting her face dry. Her hair was put back under her customary bonnet, and she looked domestic and lovely, even with the circles under her eyes. It had only been a couple hours, and Rose was sure they both looked exhausted. Not from fatigue, from defeat. Or maybe not defeat, since Rose would never give up on hockey. But certainly grief, frustration, and sadness. They would have to weather a lot more, she was sure of it.
“I don’t think so,” Svetlana responded to her question before stepping back toward the sink to brush her teeth. Rose waited while she brushed and then spat before turning off the bathroom light and padded over to the bed.
“Even if they could resurrect it, do we want that?” Svetlana asked once she was snuggled into Rose’s side. “The CWHF 2.0? Getting paid almost nothing, respected even less, treated worse than college or even an independent team. We should not have to fight so hard.”
Rose stroked her head soothingly, feeling the frustration as well. It had been more than a decade since the CWHF had been created, full of grand promises and ideas, and what had been delivered? Nothing. The NWHF claimed to be better, a higher level of hockey, a real professional league. And yet Rose and her team mates scrambled to gain practice time, sacrificed job opportunities and family milestones, even chipped in for travel and food on occasion, all so they could continue to play the game they loved. Nothing was improving, despite years or hard work and advocacy. The collapse of the CWHF further proved that the current direction wasn’t working.
“Many people online are saying this will somehow be good, having only one league. That the NWHF will be forced to take over some teams,” Rose commented. She was personally less optimistic, but then again she tried to put as little faith in the league as possible, on principle.
“If they do, they won’t take Worcester,” Svetlana remarked. “Probably not Markham either. A few good players, captains maybe, but what about everyone else?”
The Worcester Quakes had been in a precarious place ever since the Boston Squall had been established, and Svetlana had been worried about what unification might look like for this very reason. As one of the best players on the team (Rose would argue the best), Rose knew Svetlana would get picked up somewhere else. Her fear for her teammates was justified, however.
“Something needs to change with the American league as well,” Svetlana murmured, her voice muted as she had nudged her face into the crook of Rose’s neck and collarbone. “Not even for us, but for the future girls.”
Rose hummed in agreement. “It feels like it's been so long since the NCAA.” She sounded wistful and she knew it. Only two years past graduation and she still woke up from dreams of playing proper games. Not even games she won, just games with proper facilities, team lunches, coaching staff.
“We need to do something,” Svetlana broke the silence with the words they had both been thinking.
“I know,” Rose said quietly.
“This isn’t sustainable.”
“I know.”
“We need help.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“Yes, we really do,” Rose agreed.
“And we leave for fucking Worlds tomorrow,” Svetlana grumbled.
Rose huffed out a laugh, but it was really more of a sob. The annual IIHF match was usually one of the highlights of the season, but she felt like crying at the thought of having to play and compete right now, when everything seemed so dire.
“We will just have to play extra hard, yes?” Svetlana lifted her head, looking deep into Rose’s eyes, as if she could read her thoughts. She squeezed Rose's arm comfortingly. “Prove them wrong.”
“Prove them wrong,” Rose echoed, giving her girlfriend a forehead kiss before they settled back down.
~
The Athletic
The CWHF Collapses Effective May 1st
Published March 31, 2019
Written by Ezekial Spalding
The Canadian Women’s Hockey Federation announced today via posts on social media that they will be ceasing operations on May 1st.
The news comes as a surprise to fans and players, who have taken to Twitter to express their opinions.
The CWHF, one of two major professional women’s hockey leagues in North America, has long provided support and organization to women’s hockey, allowing women to play professionally past college. With reports of increased viewership throughout this past season, the abrupt end to the league is surprising.
Tim Edwards, CWHF Chair, cited economic instability in his statement released on Twitter today. This is possibly referencing Fred Jones, a financial supporter of the CWHF, pulling out in September. Jones stated lackey transparency in fund distribution by the board of directors. While the CWHF has other financial backers, a continuous struggle for the league has been stable sponsorship deals.
”We feel unable to continue to manage the league and supply it with the resources it deserves,” said Board Member Ellen Jameson. “We hope that the athletes will flourish elsewhere and continue to play in other leagues.”
The NWHF stated this morning that they have no plans to end the league and will continue next season as usual. They made no comment on potentially picking up Canadian teams and expanding across North America.
CWHF and NWHF players have been active on social media since the announcement, sharing sentiments of frustration and worry along with optimism for the future.
“We were just told that the CWHF will be ending in May. While this news is unexpected, we will continue fighting for women’s hockey and progressing the sport in any way we can,” Noa Kincaid, a defensive player on the Montreal Tempest tweeted.
The feeling was corroborated by other athletes in the CWHF who tweeted their thoughts along with the hashtag “#NoLeague.”
“Just got off the plane, joined the CWHF call, and found out the league is folding. To say I’m upset is an understatement. #NoLeauge,” shared Kacey Gilles, Captain of the Calgary Blizzard.
The plane she was on was to Finland for the IIHF World Championship, which starts next week. Speculation as to the timing of the announcement has abounded, with most saying it was unfair to make the announcement right before the tournament, affecting players' focus during the upcoming games. Some have argued that the timing will lead to more intense matches, and a few have added that the tournament will give players the opportunity to network and discuss the league's collapse. Players from other women’s hockey leagues have been speaking up as well.
“Incredibly disheartened about the end to the CWHF,” tweeted Boston Squall Assistant Captain Rose Landry. “We must band together as we navigate the future for women’s hockey. #NoLeague.”
Ebba Alphand, a player in the Swedish Professional Women’s Hockey League shared similar support. “The collapse of the CWHF has ripples across all of women’s hockey. We will support our North American sisters however possible. #NoLeague.”
While most of the reaction to the CWHF announcement has been sadness, small bits of optimism have shone through.
“While we never hoped for the CWHF to collapse, many players including myself have been calling for a unified league for years. Could this be the opportunity?” Tweeted Sara Jefferson of the Montreal Tempest.
Fans across platforms have echoed her question, expressing support for one North American league. Time will tell if this current tragedy will evolve into something even better.
This is a developing story. Check in with The Athletic for updates.