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WATCH ABOVE: The Elites Girls Hockey program offers girls the opportunity to play in all-girls hockey teams and help them develop the skills and confidence to achieve their goals.

MONTREAL – In the past, girls who wanted to play organized hockey in Quebec had to do so with the boys.

But over the past couple of years, there’s been a province-wide movement to get more young girls to participate in the beloved sport.

With the help of Lac Saint-Louis and Hockey Québec, the Elite Girls Hockey Program allows young girls the opportunity to play on all-female hockey teams.

The league’s director Andrew Boosamra stopped by the Global Montreal Morning News to tell anchor Camille Ross all about it.

“The social side of girls playing on girls’ teams is very profound,” said Boosamra.

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“There are so many benefits; they perform better academically, they learn leadership skills and they are less likely to do bad things in life because they are part of such good programs.”

He goes on to explain that the league’s territory is quite large.

It encompasses the following boroughs and cities: Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pierrefonds-Roxboro, île-Bizard, Mount-Royal, Outremont, Ville Saint-Laurent, Verdun, Lasalle, Westmount, Lachine, Montreal West, Hampstead, Côte-Saint-Luc, Châteauguay, Kahnawake, Sainte-Martine and Mercier.

The all-girl hockey teams will have Novice, Atom, Peewee, Bantam, Midget and Junior levels offering a range of skill from AA, A and B.

In addition, a new committee will manage the program, which will include initiatives such as the promotion of girls hockey, coaching selection and instruction, recruiting players and events like the “Bring a Friend” day, tournaments and festivals – all exclusively for girls hockey.

For more information, go to the Elite Girls Hockey Program website.