To be a girl in the “male” world of ice – Stephanie Stoyanova
Stephanie is the captain of the national women ice hockey team – our only women team in the discipline. Although the rinks are full of amateurs during the winter season, the girls on the team have to face men on the ice, in order to do their regular trainings. Stefani Stoyanova shares with us the challenges of being a girl in the “male” world of ice.
MS: Hello! How did 2021 start for you?
SS: Hi! I couldn’t wait for the New Year to come, given what the old one was like. 2021 started at full speed with work and trainings and like every other person, I hope that this year would be better than the past in every aspect.
MS: What are your goals for the new year?
SS: I want to continue to develop in the field in which I work. I am an engineer and I still have a lot to learn and to develop. This is my main goal during the year.
As far as the sport is concerned, in the first place, I hope that international competitions will be renewed. An Olympic qualification awaits us in August, if the situation allows. My goal, or rather a dream, is to develop women hockey in Bulgaria. We have wonderful little girls who deserve attention.
MS: What is your day like as the team captain?
SS: Being a captain is an extremely responsible and sometimes quite difficult task! The captain is the bridge between the team and the coach. When it comes to motivation, I try to find the most accurate words for each girl individually, as well as for the whole team and I strongly hope to succeed. I like to get together outside of training and listen to each other’s experiences.
I am the happiest when I manage to make everyone laugh and we have fun together.
MS: Ice hockey is not among the most popular sports in our country, especially among women. How does it feel to be a “girl in a male world”?
SS: I don’t feel like a “girl in a male world.” In sports we are all equal. We all come to the rink for one thing and that is hockey. I feel great playing with both the women in the national team and the men. Many of us train in amateur male teams and I would boldly say that we as women are competitive there as well. ?
MS: You say you have to train with the “stronger gender”. Do the boys respect you?
SS: With the girls we train on ice only 2 times a week, which is not enough. That’s why we have to train with men’s teams. They certainly look at us differently when we go out against them on the ice. Personally, I think I managed to win my place in all the men’ teams I’ve been on. And, yes, there is respect between us.
MS: How did the pandemic change the way you train?
SS: I will not forget the morning of March 13, when I was preparing my clothes for training, and a few hours later, I realized that they were closing the rink. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to adapt to training at home. I had very little equipment available and had to take a completely different training methodology. I mostly did exercises with my own weight and later I got equipment. I turned my living room into an office and a gym, and when the situation allowed, I went out and ran. When they allowed us to train outdoors, we started training as a team. After opening the slide again, we train weekly.
MS: How do you keep the balance between the rink and the fun outside?
SS: Sport is my way of fun.
I love training and it makes me feel good.
Sport teaches you many things. One of them is to be organized and that’s why I manage to stop with all the obligations and have time for fun outside the slide.
With the MultiSport card you have the opportunity to visit the ice rinks, part of our winter offer, free of charge. Take a look at the sites in our network here: benefitsystems.bg/winter2020
