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The Edmonton Chimos
Contact Information:
Mailing Address:
Box 626
Bruderheim, AB
Canada
T0B 0S0
Operations Arlan Maschmeyer Phone (780) 918-8818 Cell
arlanm@albertacom.com
Head Coach Jason Schmidt Phone (780) 722-2273
Schmidt_jason@hotmail.com
History:
The Edmonton Chimos were founded in 1973 when a radio ad was broadcast in Edmonton looking for women who wanted to play hockey. One of the original players to answer that ad, was former Coach, Shirley Cameron. When Shirley was a young girl on the farm in Bonnyville, she spent much of her spare time in the winter season playing pond hockey with her brothers and extended family. Her dream then, was to someday play on an all-girls hockey team, with real team jerseys, against other girl's teams. When Shirley moved to Edmonton in her early twenties, the opportunity to play on a girl's team arose. Enough women answered that radio ad to form two groups. There was the "Sunday" night group, and the "Tuesday' night group. The Sunday night girls went on to call themselves the "Nemow's" (Women's spelt backwards). One of the Tuesday night girls had heard an Inuit greeting that happened to rhyme, and over post-game beverages, the Chimos - meaning "Are you friendly?" became the name of the group. The name stuck, and hence the Chimos were born.
The original Chimo logo was a small, abominable snowman type character. Over the years as her speed increased, she became the current logo.In the late 1970's and 1980's the Chimos dominated women's hockey in Alberta. They won all but one provincial championship from 1982 until 1997. They have represented Alberta at the National Championships 16 times, and have won the Nationals in 1984, 1985, 1992, and 1997. In their last appearance at the Esso Nationals in 2004, the Chimos won the bronze medal. Many Chimos have had the opportunity to play for Team Canada, including Shirley Cameron, Dawn "Dewey" McGuire, Jane Robinson (Lagace), Judy Diduck, and Fiona Smith to name a few.
Playing for many years in the Northern Alberta Female Hockey Association (NAFHA), the Chimos dominated the league. For additional competition, the Chimos traveled to small towns around Edmonton to play men's senior teams. This provided the players the chance to hone their skills, as well as exhibit their talent. These factors were the inspiration for the Cameron Cup Women's Hockey Super Series, which began in 1999.
The Cameron Cup Series, (named after former Chimo coach and pioneer in women's hockey, Shirley Cameron) was an exhibition schedule between the Edmonton Chimos and the Calgary Oval X-Treme. The teams met for ten games over five weekends in smaller centers around the province. Host towns included Athabasca, Whitecourt, Kitscoty, Lloydminster, Sherwood Park, Didsbury, Olds, Warburg, Wainwright and Viking. Each weekend, members of the Chimos and the X-Treme would host a skills clinic with local girls, followed by a game between the two teams. The Series gave the teams an opportunity to compete at a high level throughout the hockey season, as well as exposing the high caliber of women's hockey to girls and hockey fans around the province. The winner of the ten game series was presented the Cameron Cup. The Oval X-treme were victorious all three years, and the Cup is engraved with such luminaries of women's hockey as Hayley Wickenheiser, Danielle Goyette and Cassie Campbell.
In the fall of 2001, representatives from the National Women's Hockey League approached the Chimos to join their organization. Both the Oval X-Treme and the Edmonton Chimos decided to join the league, and with their addition, the NWHL was comprised of the top ten women's hockey teams in Canada, from Vancouver to Quebec. The Chimos participated in the NWHL for two seasons.
In the summer of 2004, the Chimos and the Calgary Oval X-Treme decided to leave the NWHL and form a new league: The Western Women's Hockey League. Founding teams are the Chimos, Oval X-Treme, BC Breakers, Saskatchewan Prairie Ice and the Minnesota Whitecaps. The goal of the new league is to promote womens hockey in the west. The Chimos were honored to host, and win, the first ever WWHL league game on October 15th, 2004 vs. the Saskatchewan Prairie Ice. The first WWHL Championship will be in Calgary March 18-20, 2005.
The three decade journey of the Chimos has encompassed much of the modern history of women's hockey. The next chapter is about to be written.
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