Female hockey players in Moose Jaw received a jumpstart on the season on Sunday afternoon.

The Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association hosted the Mavericks Fall Festival at the Kinsmen Arena, giving new players, and those returning, an opportunity to hit the ice before the season gets underway.

"We have a tremendous vibe in the building, everybody is very excited," said Eric Campbell, organizer of the two Mavericks Festivals in the past year. "A lot of girls have come back, a lot of girls are new to hockey coming here and they get a chance to skate, they get a chance to be with other girls that play and we've accomplished quite a bit in the past two festivals."

The first Mavericks Festival went during last season and served a celebration of a successful year for the Mavericks female hockey program. The purpose of both events has been the same, to get more girls playing hockey and give them a supportive environment to try the sport.

"You get a chance to come out before tryouts or practice, hit a puck, skate with no pressure, have some fun and realize why people love hockey so much," said Campbell. "When you get a chance to do that with no pressure, your parents cheering you on and everybody here being so supportive, it’s a good thing for female hockey and for each individual girl."

Local female hockey players of all ages took to the ice at the Kinsmen Arena on Sunday for the Mavericks Fall Festival. (Photo: Marc Smith)

Female hockey is growing in Moose Jaw. The city has produced a number of high-level players over the past decade, but they're seeing numbers rise in the young age groups with two novice teams for the first time this season.

"We've got a lot of really great coaches who are helping out and a lot of strong female leaders that are helping out and that's what it's about, it's about having fun at the rink and with these strong female coaches that we have in the Mavericks program, it's starting to pay dividends and that's important," said Campbell.

Campbell wants to keep the momentum that they've been building over the past year going throughout this season. The hope is that they will be able to have more festivals moving forward.

"Minor Hockey has been so great about making this a possibility for us and really pushing this program forward and with their support, we'll do these as much as there is a demand and that's what this is all about," said Campbell.

"You look around at all the faces and everybody is smiling and happy, all the girls are laughing and cheering, and that's what hockey is all about."