Women's Hockey In The Netherlands Has Been Centuries In The Making

Hundreds of years before hockey became a formalized sport among women in the Netherlands, skating was a common pastime in the nation.

In 1395, a Dutch teenager named Lidwina was documented as skating with friends along the many canals in the nation.

As one text described, “The little party fastened on their skates, intending to commence the holiday trip by way of the canal, on which was situated the home of Lydwina's family. Barely was this accomplished when, in the hurry of starting, one of the girls pushed against Lydwina, causing her to fall with such violence on a rough piece of ice that a rib on her right side was severely fractured.”

The injury incurred had complications that impacted the remainder of Lidwina's life, and after the passed away in 1433, the Dutch woman was dubbed the patron saint of ice skaters.

It stands to reason at some point following those early women skating in the 1300s, that some played hockey, but it wasn't until the 1970s that the game became organized in Holland.

Originally, no clubs offered women's hockey, so the game took more of a "pick up" approach, particularly in the cities of Groningen and Geleen. Soon, GIJS Groningen became the Netherlands' first club to offer hockey, which was followed by three prominent teams, the Hokij Devils, Falcon Girls, and Rose Valley Blues. In 1981, the Falcon Girls were the first women's team in the Netherlands to join the Netherlands Ice Hockey Association (NIJB).

The four teams remained dominant in the women's game with the Falcon Girls dominating the national championship tournaments in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1987, the Netherlands sent a women's team to the first large scale international tournament in women's hockey history competing at the Women's Wold Hockey Tournament in Mississauga. Initially, it was planned that a club team would represent the Dutch, but ultimately, "Team Holland" as they played under, were composed of players from the Falcon Girls, Hokij Devils, and GIJS Groningen. There was no funding from Nederlandse IJshockey Bond, the Netherlands' national ice hockey association meaning only players who could afford the tip could attend. The national association provided only jerseys and socks for the team. The team did not fare well losing 19-1, 20-0, and 19-0 to Canada, USA, and Ontario. They also lost to Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan at the tournament, although by much narrower margins.

Following that tournament, the rate at which women's hockey organized globally accelerated, including holding the first European Championship in 1989 in Düsseldorf, Germany. To qualify for that tournament, the Netherlands had to play a pair of games against Great Britain to decide who would earn a spot in the tournament. The Dutch team won both games 4-2, becoming part of the inaugural European championships alongside Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The tournament would serve as a qualifying event for the first women's World Championship sanctioned by the IIHF, which was scheduled to take place in 1990 in Ottawa, Canada. The Netherlands struggled again at this tournament, losing each of their games to finish 8th, unable to qualify for the first World Championships. The nation however, did not put much into women's hockey following these first tournaments, while other nations began developing national programs, and organizing regular international competition.

Of the Dutch players, Falcons Girls sisters Irene Pepels and Marion Pepels would emerge as the top players from the nation. Irene Pepels was named the top player for the Netherlands at the first European Championship in 1989.

Marion Pepels in particular, however, would take her game to new heights as the first Dutch woman to gain international recognition among the best players in the world. Pepels left the Falcon Girls to play in Switzerland with SC Lyss Damen. She spent six seasons with the team, winning three national titles before Pepels made the biggest step of all, to move to North America playing for the London Devilettes in the COWHL, at the time the best league in the world.

Pepels recorded three goals and 14 points that season in 31 games. Following that season she returned to Switzerland, and for the first time in 1999, with the World Championship field expanding to 15 teams from the eight that had played since 1990.

That year, Pepels also won another national title in Switzerland, this time playing for EV Zug.

This past season at age 64, Pepels played in a game with the Smoke Eaters Geleen in the Netherlands' women's league scoring two goals and adding an assist.

The Netherlands has climbed into contention among the top teams globally again as well, moving up to compete in the Division 1A World Championships, the division just below the top in the world. After years of relegation, the Netherlands earned back-to-back promotion in 2018 and again in 2019.

The key player in those promotions turned out to be Savine Wielenga, who was born in 1989, the same year as the Netherlands participated in the first ever European Championship. The long time captain of the Netherlands is the nation's all-time leading scorer in international competition.

From the patron saint of ice skating, to the founding of teams including the Falcon Girls and Hokij Devils, women's hockey in the Netherlands has been centuries in the making.

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