Fan Engagement in a Pandemic
What does it look like?
This past weekend was Girls’ Hockey Weekend, a celebration of women in the game and an initiative to get girls playing hockey. I’ve known about its existence for a few years and worked a special event last season where women from present and past USA Hockey teams ran a clinic for 50 girls. It was incredible to see how much these young girls admired the players, excited to get players like Kendall Coyne-Schofield or Alex Rigsby as coaches for the day and then get autographs from them later.
Maybe I get a little nostalgic thinking about it because I miss my old job working in Fan Development for the Blackhawks, but I also get a little emotional about it because how often do we get to meet our role models? Especially women role models. It was empowering for these young girls to have a day being mentored by some of the best in the game and for these players to know how many young girls and women look up to them. It was empowering for me to meet Billie Jean King last year, what an absolute legend for myself and so many other girls and women, especially in sports.2
With many teams announcing funding from the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund this week, I’m wondering what kind of new or continuing programming we’ll see in the future, especially in a non-traditional hockey market like Nashville. I was surprised to see the amounts circulating due to the COVID pandemic because I know my old job hinged on that funding. While team owners and management may directly invest in their team’s community programming, a bulk of the money does come from the NHL through their Industry Growth Fund. It’s been an important point in past CBA negotiations and with the current CBA being extended through 2026, we’ll continue to see more community programming and growing the game.
A lot of that programming is going to look very different from years’ past though. It’s a lot of virtual learning through programs like Future Goals Hockey Scholar. If you’re the parent of a hockey-loving child, I highly recommend enrolling them through your local or favorite NHL team. It’s a great tool because your child learns about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) concepts through hockey, like graph plotting through building an ice rink or figuring out what temperature an ice rink should be to learn about states of matter.
Some teams are taking it a step further and filming virtual clinics and sending out equipment to kids, or they’re opening up their practice facilities and welcoming students. The potential for reaching fans is huge right now and teams should be taking advantage of that. Kids are bored at home during virtual learning and parents… I can’t even imagine how they’re taking on the roles that teachers normally would. Imagine how cool it would be to have someone like Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews talking about fitness to your child. It’s important to grab kids’ attention. Partnering with schools and teachers, especially those in underserved and underfunded communities, NHL teams could create something special. Whether it’s sending out giveaways that won’t be given away at games any time soon, or getting rid of any inventory from cancelled clinics, there’s something that can be done.
This is a small side note, but I also want to congratulate Doc Emrick on retiring after 40 years of calling NHL games. He’d always give a wave or chat with arena staff when he did games at the United Center and his kindness was truly genuine.
Be sure to keep an eye out for Corey’s post coming Thursday! For now, enjoy a picture of Stella on her first day home.
