GENDER, SPORT, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY - A CASE-STUDY FROM WOMENS ICE HOCKEY

This paper examines the construction of community on a women's ice hoc key team. The analysis is based on fieldwork and interviews with an el ite-level team. Within an organizational context in which men play cen tral roles in the management of team affairs and the circle of team su pporters, the dressing room provides a space where players come togeth er as hockey players and as women. The analysis suggests that the cons truction of community on a woman's hockey team is grounded in members' shared identity as hockey players and their commitment to the sport. This common focus and interest unite women fr om diver se backgrounds and social locations.