In May, 200 of the best womens hockey players announced theyd be boycotting all games until the National Womens Hockey League gives them the pay and resources they deserve.
Having no health insurance and making as low as $2,000 a season means players cant adequately train at the highest level, the Professional Womens Hockey Players Association wrote in a group statement.
Like most NWHL players, Blake Bolden and Taylor Marchin have had to take full-time jobs to support themselves as pro athletes. (Bolden runs a mentorship program for athletes; Marchin works at an investment bank.)
Needing to have a second job is a problem.
We are trying to figure out how to make ends meet, just to play the game we love, says Bolden, the first African American player in the NWHL. Needing to have a second job is a problem.
To draw attention to womens hockey, both Bolden and Marchin are participating in this summers Aurora Games, a womens sports competition festival. Its an amazing opportunity for girls to be exposed to womens sports they might not have been able to see, says Marchin. And thats the first step in expanding girls ideas of what they can achieve.
This article appears in the July/August 2019 issue of Womens Health. For more intel on how to live a happier, healthier life, pick up an issue, on newsstands June 25.