BelaHockey new hockey gear & apparel line for girls
20 Dec '07
4 min read
BelaHockey was inspired by Bela Cloutier, a six-year-old from Portland, Maine who wanted desperately to keep up with the boys in her neighborhood but couldn't find any equipment that made her feel as though she belonged.
“When Bela and I went to purchase all the equipment for her to play hockey with the neighborhood kids, there was nothing in the store that made her feel as though she should be playing too,” said Anna Cloutier, co-founder of BelaHockey.
“It is intimidating for girls to try a new, predominately male sport, especially when the equipment looks as though it has been designed for boys. As moms, we wanted hockey to be packaged in a more balanced and inviting way. This was when the idea of BelaHockey was born.”
Over the past fifteen years, girls and women's hockey have enjoyed considerable growth with participation levels increasing to 58,000 participants in the U.S. and 74,000 in Canada for the 2005-06 seasons according to USA Hockey.
These figures have more than doubled in the past decade and many believe the Olympic success of both the U.S. and Canadian Olympic women's hockey teams are contributing factors. Young girls (10 and under) in the U.S. were responsible for the largest increase with more than 4,000 participants joining the sport since 2001.
“I will always be proud of the fact that I represented my country in the Olympics and helped bring home the gold, but just as important, I will forever be proud of what our success has meant for the next generation of young girls,” added Granato.
Cloutier and Granato are joined by partner Justine Carlisle to form the Portland-based company. BelaHockey will continue to expand its product line in the 2008-09 seasons with performance shirts, hockey stick bags, jerseys and other colorful, playful custom equipment.
In addition to being a mom herself, Granato is arguably the most recognizable female American hockey player of all-time. A two-time Olympian, she captained Team USA to the gold medal in 1998 Nagano Games and silver medal in 2002 Salt Lake Games.
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