About Us

The Early Days
Women's hockey in South Florida began more than 10 years ago. At that time, there were a few women in the Ft. Lauderdale area who
played on men's teams at the few rinks in the area. Most of the players were Canadian transplants who wanted to continue playing the
sport they love. Current Beaches player Karen Ota was the leader of the group and was instrumental in bringing the women together to
play as one team to play games against the few other women's teams in the state. Below are the critical milestones and
accomplishments that have taken place throughout the years, resulting in the Florida Beaches becoming the first women's team from
Florida to compete in the USA Hockey Nationals in April of 2005.

January 2003
Ft. Lauderdale Freeze join the men's league at Incredible Ice in Coral Springs, becoming the first all-women's team in the South Florida
area to compete in a men's league. Freeze finish first season in the league with a 1-13 record and 75 goals allowed versus 30 goals
scored.

February 2003
Florida Womens Hockey League (FWHL) is formed by members of the Ft. Lauderdale Freeze and Lady Everblades from Ft. Myers. The
teams were sparked by the success of the Sunshine State Games that took place at TECO Arena in Estero. The league began with 11
teams from Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Brandon, Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers.

June 7, 2003
First official FWHL games are played.

Summer 2003
Ft. Lauderdale Freeze play in their second season in the men's league at Incredible Ice. Finish season in 6th place with 7-7 record.
Freeze allows only 59 goals while scoring 48.

Fall 2003
Ft. Lauderdale Freeze play in their third season in the men's league at Incredible Ice and qualify for the playoffs! Finish season with 6-11
record and 82 goals against and 66 goals scored.

February 2004
Freeze finish the inaugural FWHL season with a 11-1-1 record scoring 81 goals while allowing only 39 goals to be scored. Freeze are B
division champions and qualify to represent the state in the USA Hockey Southeast District Championships.

March 2004
Ft. Lauderdale Freeze compete for the first time in an official USA Hockey championship tournament. The Southeast District
Championships were held at J.P.Igloo in Ellenton. Freeze lose in finals to perennial champions Chesapeake Bay Lightning from
Maryland by 1 goal.

Summer 2004
Summer women's hockey league is formed with games being played every Friday night at Glacier Ice Arena in Pompano. A draft is held to
create 3 evenly matched teams with players of all levels.

Fall 2004
Freeze team regroups as The Florida Beaches to give better national visibility to the fact that our club is from Florida. The Beaches also
land volunteer head coach Tom King.

November 2004
Members of the Florida Beaches join forces with their friends the Indianapolis Rengades to win the advanced division of the Autumn
Classic in Cleveland, Ohio.

January 2005
Florida Beaches play in Rainbow Tournament in hockey hotbed Midland, Michigan. This is the first time the Beaches face other Nationals
bound B teams and they did quite well losing 2 games by a goal. Members of the Beaches C team join forces with Indy Renegades to
compete in the Recreational division. It was the first of many extremely enjoyable out of state tournaments the Beaches participated in
throughout the season.

February 2005
Florida Beaches travel to Canada for the first time and finish 3rd at the Molson Classic in Windsor Canada.

February 2005
Second season of FWHL a huge success as for the first time, league championship games are held at the Ice Zone in Lake Worth. The
competition for the right to go to the District Championships is tough. Florida Beaches win the B division in a tough 3 game series
against the Orlando Sirens. The Lady Everblades from Ft. Myers win the C division.

March 2005
Florida Beaches win the Southeast District Championships in Ashburn, VA, beating the team they lost to in the finals the prior year, the
Chesapeake Bay Lightning. Beaches become the first women's team from Florida to qualify for the USA Hockey National
Championships.

April 2005
Florida Beaches compete in the USA Hockey Nationals in Green Bay, Wisconsin, losing 3 games. The Beaches were plagued with
illnesses and injuries from the long, tough road to Nationals but still manage to make a good showing.

July 2005
First ever all women's hockey camp in the southeast is hosted by the Beaches and held at the Professional Hockey Institute in Davie, FL.
The Weekend Warrior-ess Camp was a huge success, with 29 women from as far away as Atlanta and all over the state. The camp
consisted of all levels of play and proved to be a grueling, but every rewarding weekend of on and off ice activities. We enjoyed forming
new friendships with women we would otherwise only see in competition.

November 2005
Florida Beaches elects its first Board of Directors and adopts by-laws. Another first for the Beaches. The Beaches see a new direction
for the club - Women and girls!

January 2006
The Florida Beaches calls Incredible Ice, Coral Springs HOME! After years of searching for the perfect place to call home, the Beaches
have found it. Incredible Ice is the official practice facility of the Florida Panthers. Jerseys, trophies, medals and newspaper clippings are
proudly displayed in the lobby at the rink. The Beaches will host Elite Hockey Camps and Patti Crowe's 3 day camp, May 19-21. The
camp is open to females ages 8 - whatever. Beaches also offer a house league for the summer.

February 2006
The Beaches team up with the Florida Jr. Panthers for the President's Day Challenge, host to twenty-four '91, '93 & '95 teams from
around the country, to raise funds for both teams. The Beaches presented a rock wall, donated and run by one of the Club's members,
her son and a friend. It was a great success and gave the kids (and a few of us) an outlet to blow off some extra energy.

April 2006
Beaches skate intermission at the Florida Panthers v. Atlanta Thrashers game. With Florida trailing play offs by only seven points, The
BankAtlantic Center was packed and we had so much fun.! Thanks to our friends at the Florida Panthers for helping us with our recruiting
efforts making us feel so special.

May 2006
Elite Hockey Camps comes to Florida. Patti Crowe and her staff were absolutely the best. Coaches consisted of the Head Coach from
Dartmouth Ladies team, Katie Weatherston and the best staff from the AHL and Dartmouth. We were so pleased with the turnout and
everything we learned. Can't wait for next year, so keep checking our site!

June 2006
Florida Beaches first ever summer house league starts at Incredible Ice. With 4 full teams and overflow of paid skaters, the Beaches
predict a success and a repeat next summer. The Florida Beaches Women's Hockey Club's 1st Annual Golf Tournament is June 24!