The Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League completed its 15th year of operation in 2010-11, with 23 teams and more than 395 athletes competing. From its beginning in 1996, with teams from Fort Richmond Collegiate, St. John’s–Ravenscourt, Kelvin High School and Vincent Massey Collegiate, the League has prospered as more and more athletes have chosen to play women’s high school hockey. As more and more girls are coming to high school with several years of hockey experience, the caliber of hockey skills and the level of competition have increased significantly.
Given the small number of teams in the League’s initial years, the League’s championship team could be determined by round-robin tournaments. However, as the number of teams increased, the League saw the need to establish two divisions in order to provide for greater parity for the teams competing. Over the seasons, teams were placed in these divisions by a variety of means, from using the teams’ previous season’s performance to our present day method of allowing teams to declare their division prior to the beginning of the season following some in division exhibition games prior to finalizing placement. With the creation of two Divisions it also became apparent that there was a need for division playoffs prior to the championship in both divisions.
The League and Division 2 championships have been increasingly exciting over the years, with League champions as follows:
| School Year | Teams | Finalists | League Champions |
| 96-97 | 4 | Vincent Massey | St. John’s Ravenscourt |
| 97-98 | 10 | Silver Heights | Oak Park l |
| 98-99 | 10 | St. Norbert | Oak Park |
| 99-00 | 11 | Silver Heights | St. Norbert Collegiate |
| 00-01 | 11 | St. Norbert | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 01-02 | 11 | Silver Heights | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 02-03 | 12 | Oak Park | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 03-04 | 15 | St. Norbert | Dakota Collegiate |
| 04-05 | 19 | River East | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 05-06 | 18 | Shaftesbury | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 06-07 | 18 | Oak Park | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 07-08 | 19 | St. James | St. Mary’s Academy |
| 08-09 | 20 | Lord Selkirk | Oak Park High School |
| 09-10 | 20 | St. Mary’s Academy | Oak Park High School |
| 10-11 | 23 | St. Mary’s Academy | Oak Park High School |
When the Division 2 championship was established, for the first two seasons the championship was awarded to the team that finished in first place. Beginning with the 2004-2005 season, however, a similar format was used in both Divisions, with a best of three game series of quarter-final, semi-final and final games for each. The Division 2 champions, as determined by these two methods, have been as follows:
| School Year | Finalists | Division 2 Champions |
| 02-03 | J.H.Bruns Collegiate* | |
| 03-04 | River East Collegiate* | |
| 04-05 | Miles Mac Collegiate | Stonewall Collegiate |
| 05-06 | Vincent Massey Collegiate | Kelvin High School |
| 06-07 | St. John’s-Ravenscourt | River East Collegiate |
| 07-08 | Balmoral Hall | Shaftesbury High School |
| 08-09 | Westwood Collegiate | Garden City Collegiate |
| 09-10 | Dakota Collegiate | Miles MacDonnell Collegiate |
| 10-11 | Fort Richmond Collegiate | West Kildonan Collegiate |
* awarded the Division 2 Championship based on the team’s first place finish in the Division.
As both the interest in and support for women’s high school hockey continues to grow, we look forward to an even larger League as schools chose to provide another opportunity for their female athletes to compete in a sport they have come to love and to do so at a level where there is parity for all teams in the League.
Celebrating Fifteen Seasons of Women’s High School Hockey
