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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 10 ,2 01 9 | 26 Grace Rylett was helping line up sponsors prior to the Halton Hills Twisters' first season, when she ap- proached one business that was willing to help out by purchasing goalie equip- ment for the startup organi- zation. The sponsor was more than happy to do its part in helping give local girls the opportunity to play hockey, but there was some con- cern. It had been less than six months since the idea had first been proposed. Pam and Bill MacGillivray had been driving their daugh- ters to Brampton to play hockey and they thought it was time girls from Halton Hills had the opportunity to play in their own town. Ry- lett was among the parents the MacGillivrays dis- cussed their idea with on the sidelines of their kids' soccer games. Rylett's 10- year-old daughter, Cheryl, had recently expressed an interest in playing hockey for the first time. Rylett signed on to help the MacGillivrays, becom- ing the organization's first secretary. And while her main duty was registering players with the Ontario Women's Hockey Associa- tion, there was much more that needed to be done if the fledgling group was going to be ready to hit the ice in Sep- tember. It had no money in the bank as it prepared to start its first season. That's how Rylett found herself rounding up spon- sors and making sure the 80 girls had the equipment they needed to begin play. So after Rylett sensed a bit of hesitation, she agreed to the sponsor's one condi- tion - if the Twisters didn't last, she would return the equipment. Rylett would go on to serve on the Twisters' exec- utive for more than a de- cade, the last five years as president after assuming the mantle from the Mac- Gillivrays. Most people, when re- flecting on their involve- ment with a group, focus on what they did. Rylett's big- gest source of pride is some- thing she didn't do. "I never had to return that equipment," said the 2019 winner of the George- town Hockey Heritage Award. Today, the Twisters have 639 players competing on 27 house league, five select and 13 rep teams. "From humble begin- nings we were able to build," Rylett said. "We eventually got everyone playing in all the proper age groups with four teams in each division, rep teams. And we built something that has sustainability." Rylett said the town was always very supportive of the Twisters. She still re- members a contentious meeting where existing ice users were being asked to give up some of their al- ready scarce time for the Twisters. "Joy Thompson (from the Town of Halton Hills) re- minded them the arena was there for hockey, not boys' hockey," Rylett said. "It was pretty quiet after that." By the time Rylett took over as president in 2003, the Twisters were at a crit- ical juncture. With no more ice time available in Halton Hills and the expansion of the Mold-Masters Sport- sPlex still a decade away, registration was capped at 200 players. The twin-pad Milton Sports Centre had just opened and the Twisters al- ready had a number of play- ers from Milton. So the Twisters approached the Town of Milton about ex- panding their program. Af- ter securing ice time in Mil- ton allowing the Twisters to expand its roster of teams, the organization was re- branded as the North Hal- ton Girls Hockey Associa- tion. With Rylett at the helm, other initiatives were intro- duced by forming partner- ships. Teaming up with the Georgetown Referees' Asso- ciation, the Twisters started a program to train more fe- male officials. Working with Georgetown Minor Hockey, they introduced the FUNdamentals program, the equivalent of the boys' initiation program (IP). The Twisters hosted Na- tional Women's Hockey League games in George- town, got involved with oth- er sports organizations on projects like the Halton Hills Sports Museum and the Georgetown Hockey Heritage dinner. When two deaf players joined the organization, the Twisters hired sign lan- guage interpreters. Eventu- ally, players took matters into their own hands. "Teams of girls started learning sign language," Rylett said. "It helped break down some barriers." Being a relatively new organization also gave the Twisters some freedom to experiment. For their 10th anniversary, rather than handing out trophies and medals at the year-end ban- quet, players got a Twisters teddy bear. "It created a bit of a stir and it was pooh-poohed by the hockey traditionalists," Rylett said. "It was a chance to step outside the box and do something a little differ- ent." And the bears were a hit. When Rylett needed one for a Twisters anniversary event, she had to make a dozen phone calls before she found a player willing to surrender her bear for the night. In Rylett's final year as president, a women's divi- sion was added, not only giving both mothers and daughters the opportunity to play for the Twisters, but also ensuring girls could continue to enjoy the game when their minor hockey days were over. "That was always the best part," Rylett said, "watching the kids, seeing how they develop and see- ing the smiles on their fac- es." Rylett will be honoured at the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Dinner Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Ac- ton Legion. COMMUNITY FORMER TWISTERS PRESIDENT GRACE RYLETT NAMED HOCKEY HERITAGE WINNER HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Grace Rylett, the former secretary and president of the North Halton Twisters was recently honoured with the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Award. Graham Paine/Metroland 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Jan. 12thnd, 2019 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters SportsPlex Georgetown Raiders vs. Wellington Dukes