Hockey equipment manufacturers are starting to realize that there's a sizeable female contingent among hockey players, and it's now possible to get gloves, chest protectors and "undergarments" designed specifically for women. Unfortunately this revolution hasn't yet reached goalie equipment - or if it has, I'm unaware of it. I don't have a problem with any of my equipment fitting me improperly except for my chest/arm protection. If I was a bit beefier of a gal, I probably wouldn't have this problem at all, but because it's designed for men, the arms on my c/a are quite loose, width-wise. Because of this, I end up with the equipment twisting around out of place during games, and as I discovered recently, even if it's in the right place it might do more harm than good.
I wasn't sure how to remedy this until I discovered a thread on a goalie message board, written by a woman asking if there were any female-oriented c/a's out there, because she's having fitting problems as well. It was from that board that I got the idea of creating inner sleeves to wear under my c/a, to artificially bulk up my arms and keep the c/a's sleeves in place. I dithered about the idea until I took a shot in my last game that has left a very large, very ugly bruise on the bone of my elbow- and that's from the impact of the puck hitting my elbow protection, which then slammed into my elbow. Given the fact that it broke the skin in two places, I'm sure a harder shot would have actually broken the bone. With that in mind I hit the local fabric store last night and purchased a yard of thick, soft fleece and some velcro.
Since in my "other life" I enjoy the very feminine persuit of quilting, I know my way around a sewing machine. I set up shop last night and created a sleeve that I can wrap around my arm (with an extra width of padding at the elbow) before putting my chest/arm protector on. Hopefully it will be thick enough to fill in the space left by my scrawny arms, and absorb some of the impact of shots.
Now if I could only do something about the fact that, in spite of the fact that I don't have much in the chest department, my c/a also makes me look like a very well endowed, albeit much older lady, I'd be a lot less self-conscious. It must not look as bad as I think it looks, because there have been numerous occasions (some documented here) when other players have been completely unaware that I'm female, and that's just fine with me.
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To be honest, the c/a protector and how it looks on you doesn't even enter into the realm of consciousness before, during, or after a game. You look like you have a chest/arm protector on, so the hockey world is ok. If any goalie - male or female took up their post between the posts without one on - that's when I think most people would raise an eyebrow. Until they start making the "form fitted" jerseys for female goalies, I think this will be a non-issue in any arena.
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