Sunday at noon ET, girls and young women hoping for more access to hockey saw the Professional Women’s Hockey League turn a Daylight Savings quirk into a fundraising push: pwhl players traded No. 24 for No. 23 on International Women’s Day to call for greater resources and support.
Spooner, Upson and Cherkowski Wear No. 23 to Spotlight Shortened Day
Three players who normally wear No. 24 changed to No. 23 for their International Women’s Day appearances to symbolize a day that is one hour shorter in much of North America. Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner, Minnesota Frost forward Vanessa Upson and New York Sirens forward Anne Cherkowski each skated with the switched number as a visible gesture meant to draw attention to girls’ access to the sport.
Pwhl’s “23 Hour Play” Ties Daylight Savings to Donations and Awareness
In an announcement, the league labeled the initiative “The 23 Hour Play” and framed it as a symbolic call to action that equality means girls and women should not fall short in funding, resources and opportunity. The pwhl urged fans to donate $23 to two community partners: the Grindstone Award Foundation in Canada and Strong Girls United in the U. S., and the campaign used the hashtag #23HourPlay on social media.
Jayna Hefford and Player Backgrounds Underscore the Message
Jayna Hefford, the league’s executive vice-president of hockey operations, emphasized representation and retention, noting research cited by the league that girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys by age 14. The league presented the jersey change as part of its broader effort to increase access and belonging for girls in hockey.
Spooner, one of the three players leading the visible effort, is identified in the league’s materials as a 35-year-old two-time Olympic gold medallist who recently earned a second Olympic silver in Milan; the season totals cited list Spooner with three goals and seven points in 19 games. Vanessa Upson, 22, is noted as being in her first PWHL season after four years at Mercyhurst University; after 14 games she had not yet recorded a point. Anne Cherkowski, 23, is recorded as having six points in 16 games in her first PWHL campaign and as a U-18 world championship medallist in 2019 and 2020.
The league described the action as part of its commitment to building a more inclusive hockey community, including mentorship and partnership work named in the announcement. The PWHL framed the one-hour loss created by Daylight Savings as a reminder of the work left to do and used the jersey swap to ask fans for concrete support.
If fans donate $23, the PWHL has designated those contributions for the Grindstone Award Foundation in Canada and Strong Girls United in the U. S.
