Toronto, ON (Oct. 20, 2022) — The Carnegie Initiative (CI), in partnership with the NHL, NHLPA, MLSE, the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), and the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), is excited to announce the Transition Game: A Deep Dive into GTHL Inclusion Efforts on November 8. The event will take place on the late Herb Carnegie’s 103rd birthday at MLSE Launchpad.
The event will strive to engage players, parents, partners, coaches, sports leaders, and other stakeholders in important conversations around the growth of inclusion and acceptance in hockey. The day will begin with invited participants taking part in a round table solutions-based session that will be hosted in a safe space to discuss making hockey a better, more diverse, and welcoming environment. The desired outcome of the round table is to capture data to produce a scalable digital road map on inclusion in hockey to present at the January 2023 Carnegie Initiative Summit in Toronto.
The second part of the day, which is open to the public, will include a keynote and panel discussion identifying issues and/or needs and the actionable steps required to make hockey more inclusive, followed by an opportunity to network and meet other individuals striving to make change.
“The Carnegie Initiative is excited to host these challenging discussions and create solutions for how to make significant change in the sport my father loved, and so many others loved, despite it not always being welcoming,” Bernice Carnegie, Co-Founder of The CI, shared. “We look forward to providing the opportunity to share ideas and discuss these difficult challenges in a productive fashion.”
The event’s keynote speech will feature former NHL Coach of the Year, Carnegie Initiative Director, and Co-Founder of the 3Nolans, Ted Nolan, along with other speakers including: Karl Subban (GTHL Director), Anthony Stewart (Founder, Hockey Equality), Sheldon Kennedy (Co-founder, Respect Group), and Scott Oakman (Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, GTHL). To register to attend the Transition Game: A Deep Dive into GTHL Inclusion Efforts, visit www.TransitionGame.SplashThat.com.
“The GTHL is honoured to be a participant in The CI Transition Game event. We have learned from our shortcomings and successes along our journey to improving inclusion and diversity while striving to eliminate racism and discrimination from our game. We look forward to sharing these experiences for the betterment of hockey,” Scott Oakman, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the GTHL, said. “At the same time, while we will be sharing our experiences so far, we are excited to be able to recalibrate some future directions from the experts who will also be participating in the event.”
The Carnegie Initiative, alongside the NHL, NHLPA, MLSE, GTHL, and TMU, has been working towards this event since June 2022. The Transition Game, however, has been an ongoing project and progression of effort from the NHL and the GTHL dating back to 2019.
The Carnegie Initiative Summit in Toronto will feature the learnings from the Transition Game, as well as the work of Dr. Richard Norman, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Dr. Nicole Melton, UMass Amherst, The CI’s inaugural research grant recipients.
The Transition Game event on November 8 will honour the late Herb Carnegie in the lead up to his posthumous induction as a Builder into the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 on November 14. For more information on Carnegie and his induction, visit the Hockey Hall of Fame’s profile here.
The Carnegie Initiative (The CI), named in honor of legendary hockey player and social justice pioneer Herb Carnegie, was created to ensure opportunity and access to hockey everywhere. Co-founded by Bernice Carnegie and Bryant McBride, and in conjunction with leading academic institutions, The CI aims to accelerate the work started by Herb Carnegie more than 50 years ago to make hockey more diverse and inclusive. In short, with the help of our partners and supporters, The CI aims to change the culture of hockey.
ABOUT THE GREATER TORONTO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Founded in 1911, the GTHL is a non-profit organization and the largest minor hockey league in the world. The GTHL registers more than 40,000 annual participants in Markham, Mississauga, Toronto and Vaughan. The purpose of the GTHL is to govern organized hockey for youth within its jurisdiction, and to foster participation that reflects the cultural demographic of the League’s territory while promoting an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for all participants.
For media requests, please contact:
THE CARNEGIE INITIATIVE
Stephanie J. Geosits | Executive Director, The Carnegie Initiative
E: info@thecarnegieinitiative.com
GREATER TORONTO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Stephanie Coratti | Manager, Communications & Marketing
NHLPA
Andrew Wolfe | Senior Manager, Communications & Media Relations
