Top team HC Dames Lugano withdraws

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Together with the ZSC Lions (ten titles), Lugano (eight titles) has dominated Swiss women’s ice hockey. Now the HC Lugano Ladies, who have been independent for five years, write in a statement: “There are no more conditions for a continuation, the ladies’ story ends here!”

In recent years, attention to women’s sports has increased worldwide, both at the professional and amateur level. “This is due to a growing awareness of the importance of sport in promoting gender equality and building a healthier and more inclusive society. However, in our latitudes, women’s sport continues to face many (too many) challenges, including discrimination, a lack of political, popular and media coverage…which inevitably leads to a lack of sponsorship.”

The management of Ladies Hockey Club Lugano “decided to throw in the towel with great regret”. Five years after the spin-off and two championship titles, two second places and a cup win, it must be said that “the necessary conditions are no longer provided here to develop a women’s hockey team in an appropriate way, with all due respect for the players and with the ambition to compete at the same level as the clubs who have rightly taken a progressive approach to promoting our women’s movement.”

The HC Ladies Lugano, where Lena Marie Lutz (moves to Zug) is a current national team player, took third place in qualifying this season and recently lost the bronze medal match against the Thurgau India Ladies.

Retire to the spirit of optimism

Under the leadership of Vicky Mantegazza, who has now been president of HC Lugano for 12 years, the Ticino women’s team had established themselves at the top of the national game five years ago before starting completely independently five years ago and celebrating further successes (champions 2019 and 21, cup winner 2022).

The highest Swiss women’s league has just acquired an important main sponsor in PostFinance and matches are now streamed live on Blick TV, among other places. With Bern (from Bomo Thun, which is about to become champions), Davos (from Thurgau) and Fribourg, other traditional men’s hockey clubs are now involved. A year ago, Ambri was promoted to the Women’s League. And EV Zug enters the second highest league with drums and has already signed two national top players, Lara Stalder and Noëmi Rhyner, who last played in Sweden.

HC Lugano demands a cantonal women’s project

The withdrawal of the Ladies Lugano is a major setback for Swiss women’s ice hockey. At HC Lugano they were surprised by the women’s report on Thursday morning, the club reports. You continue to train players in the youth field. However, there are currently only 17 players between the ages of 5 and 17 in the club and they are facing infrastructure problems.

For this reason, HC Lugano proposes that the Ticino Hockey Federation set up a cantonal project for a single team to “create a platform for elite women’s hockey in the canton”. Is there really a historic collaboration between Lugano and Ambri in the women’s race?

Source : Blick