Hockey Goals: The Women of the Yakima Sting

Photos by George May

In recent years, ice hockey has enjoyed a surge of popularity from fans around the globe.  Long-term residents of the Yakima Valley may recall that this attention is not entirely unprecedented on a local level.  Since it began operations in the 1960s, the Yakima Ice Rink has been host to a variety of hockey teams.  During its heyday in the 1970s, its small section of bleachers was often packed to overflowing with hockey fans young and old, and games were broadcast live on the radio.

Debbie Werremeyer, 51, spent her childhood in those stands watching her brothers and father skate.  Coming from a large family where all but one of eight siblings ice-skated-her father, the late Richard “Dick” Patnode served as the first president of Yakima Amateur Hockey Association (YAHA)-you might say hockey ran in Werremeyer’s blood.  So it is no surprise she has devoted a lifetime to the sport.

Growing up, Werremeyer became fast friends with other girls in the hockey stands who shared her interests and background.  Together they dreamed of forming a team of their own.  So when ladies broomball, a low-contact sport played on the ice with rubber shoes in place of skates, was proposed by Yakima Ice Rink members, Werremeyer says their response was:  “That’s lame, we want to play hockey.”

And play they did.  The Yakima Women’s Hockey Team, in association with YAHA, was soon formed, and the girls played together throughout high school.  This was the mid-’70s, a time before many of today’s safety regulations, and the scrappy women’s team played full-check hockey without protective face cages on their helmets.

“We played teams from all over,” recalls Werremeyer holding a faded 1977 team photo of the girls.  “The Seattle SnoKings were especially rough on us, but during the Sweethearts Tournament of ’77, we won.  We beat those guys,” she grins, pointing proudly to the large trophy centered prominently among the girls.

After graduation and inevitable life changes that came with time, marriages and new babies, the team eventually split up.  But Werremeyer and many of the other players never forgot about the team or their mutual love of the game.

Fast forward 20 years to 1999 when Diane Craig and a whole new generation of women’s hockey fans circled the ice week after week at the small Yakima Ice Rink, dreaming of playing for a team of their own.  Craig, also in her 50′s, recalls gazing into the dusty trophy cabinet at the rink and wondering where the 1977 Women’s Team players ended up.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to wonder long.  A member of the ice rink placed a flier advertising free women’s skate night, to flush out potential interest for a new women’s hockey team.  The gimmick worked, and one Sunday Craig found herself in a locker room filled with enough women to form a team, including five of the original members of the 1977 team.  She immediately recognized the faces of her role models, shouting out to much laughter, “You’re the girls from the picture.”

The Sting was officially formed in 1999, and has been making up for lost years together ever since.  During their first season The Sting played at the beginners level and won the majority of their games.  Says Werremeyer, “We were better than we thought we were.”

They quickly moved up to the more challenging intermediate level where they play to this day.  Craig remembers the first few years as particularly grueling, as they improved their skills together.  “I was so sore I couldn’t brush my teeth,” she groans.  But the women persisted and have won many tournaments in the past 10 years, including the 2003 Pacific District Championship.

“The Yakima Sting is a diverse group,” says Dane Perone, who along with Chris Sutherland has been coaching the team since 2008.  Team members range in age from 14 to their mid-50s with more than half the team over 30.  “Some of us grew up on skates while others are coming back (to hockey) or just learning.  We have people that are at a lot of different ability levels.”

The players are quick to point out that there are no differences in rules for men’s or women’s hockey games within the Pacific Northwest Amateur Association.  Laughs Perone, “Off sides is off sides no matter what gender you are.”

Though today’s Amateur Association games are non-contact and do not allow body checks for either men’s or women’s games, some injuries are inevitable.  “There haven’t been any teeth lost,” laughs Werremeyer, “but sometimes we get pretty banged up.”

Unlike the hockey games played in the 1970s, where players often skated without helmets, players today wear a myriad of protective equipment.  The heavy, bulky garb, which together weighs more than 50 lbs., includes a helmet, padded pants, knee/shin pads, socks and garter, a jersey, and of course, skates.  Says Craig, “The protective gear really helps.  You might get stunned, but you’ll be able to get up and get back at it.”

Injuries are avoided as much as possible, laughs Chris Sutherland, 36, since “Come Monday morning, everyone’s got to get back to their day job.”

The women of the Sting balance many roles both on and off the ice.  Seven babies have been born to hockey moms during the time they have been playing together.  Craig remembers joking about pregnancy in the locker room.  “We’d tell them, ‘This is when you have to get pregnant so you won’t miss the season.’”

One player, Leanette Hooper, managed to succeed at this feat, eventually giving birth to three boys without missing a single hockey season in 10 years.  She nursed the babies in the locker room between games.  At varying times over the years, team members have also included a mother-daughter duo and two sets of sisters.

The team may play in an amateur division but their competitiveness is all professional.  “Ultimately we’re here for fun, recreation and a little exercise,” says Sutherland, “but, if you’re going to play, play to win.”  Agrees Werremeyer, “My dad used to always tell us, ‘You’re only as strong as your weakest skater.’  We practice hard because nobody wants to be that weakest link on the team.”

New skaters may not be asked to tournaments their first year, primarily for their own safety, but both the coaches and team members encourage newcomers to their sport.  “The younger they start out the better,” says Sutherland, “But anyone who wants to get out on the ice is welcome, as far as I’m concerned.”

This season, the Sting is scheduled to play in five tournaments, against teams from Spokane, Tri-Cities and Wenatchee, among others.  Within their intermediate division, the Sting is often matched against teams from all over the Northwest, including Canada.  The Canadian teams pose a particular challenge.  Laughs Werremeyer, “We’ve been beaten by little gray-haired ladies up there.”  Rather than shy away from playing the competitive Canadian teams, the Sting welcomes the challenge.  Explains Werremeyer, “You only get better by pushing yourself out of your comfort level, ability-wise.”

But perhaps the greatest adversity to the team above any on-ice scrimmage is its ongoing attempts to secure proper playing facilities.  The Yakima Ice Rink and YAHA are non-profit organizations, and the ice rink is maintained and operated on a volunteer basis.  The facility, which is currently for sale, does not have regulation-size ice, and therefore most tournaments hosted by the Sting must be played at the Toyota Arena in Kennewick.

Someday, members of the Sting as well as the many men, women and kids who share the ice, hope to have a regulation-size rink of their own, so that tournaments can be brought to Yakima.  Until that time the Yakima Ice Rink volunteers continue to invest their own time, money and energy into improving the facility.

This year, with a generous donation from Apple Valley Kiwanis and donated materials from multiple organizations, the volunteers were able to paint, replace fencing and netting around the ice, add new hockey goals and remodel the locker rooms and warm-up room.  New skates and rental gear were provided for the many youth and adult skate lessons held throughout the season.  “We have a great core (of volunteers) who are dedicated and very community minded,” says Sutherland.

Though the countless hours spent both volunteering for the rink and practicing for the team can be difficult at times, the rewards are worth it for the many men and women who participate in Yakima Amateur Hockey Association activities each year.  Because, grins Craig holding the faded 1974 Women’s Team photo, “There’s just something about hockey.”

For more information contact:

Yakima Ice Rink

1700 E Beech St

Yakima, WA 98901-2104

(509) 469-0597

www.yakimaicerink.com