On Saturday Oct. 5th at 11am EST, the new women’s hockey book OFFSIDE – A Memoir – Challenges Faced by Women in Hockey by Rhonda Leeman Taylor will be making its official publishing debut.
OFFSIDE is the intimate story of Rhonda Leeman Taylor’s experience in the hockey world of the ’60s, ’70s & ’80s, and the discrimination and challenges she faced as a female player, coach and builder.
Rhonda was one of the founders of organized women’s hockey in Canada in the 1980s. As the first salaried female employee working for the OWHA, Rhonda sat as chairwoman of the inaugural Women’s National Hockey Championships, directed the first Female Council (the main voice for girls’ hockey today), and was the first woman to ever sit on the CAHA (Hockey Canada) Board of Directors.
OFFSIDE details the numerous trials that women like Rhonda had to overcome to make hockey a socially acceptable sport for women in Canada. Her story combines colourful and thought-provoking anecdotes to bring to light the important history that paved the way for women to enjoy the game today.
Our goals with this book are two-fold: firstly, to better document a relatively unknown part of Canada’s hockey history, and secondly, to help young women in sport today understand the challenges that their foremothers had to face in order to allow them to play the game we love. In doing so, Rhonda hopes to help inspire the next generation of women and their supporters to take up the torch in the battle against gender discrimination.
Rhonda co-wrote the book with her great niece Denbeigh Whitmarsh, an avid triathlete and women’s writer who is currently studying literature at McGill University. The process of writing from first-hand historical evidence interpreted with a contemporary feminist outlook gives the book a unique flavour which will please both younger and older readers. The book is a must-read for sports fans and female athletes across the continent.
As of Oct. 5th, the memoir will be available in paperback and eBook formats on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, and more!
OFFSIDE has partnered with The Grindstone Award Foundation to give back $1 for every paperback and $0.50 for every eBook purchased. The Grindstone Award Foundation (www.grindstoneaward.com) is a Canadian charity run by ex-pro hockey player Danielle Grundy, which helps fund financially troubled young girls who can’t afford to pursue their passion in hockey.
For more information about the book or to contact Rhonda please visit www.rhondaleemantaylor.com. Thank you for supporting women in sport.