Saroya Tinker: Breaking Barriers in Women's Hockey

On this episode, host Sarah Burke sits down with Saroya Tinker with a live audience at the Queen Street Knix Store in Toronto, in partnership with Monday Girl.

Saroya Tinker is a former professional hockey player who recently transitioned to join the Professional Women's Hockey League’s broadcasting team, both on panel and color commentary. She is also the league's Manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Community Initiatives. 

Sarah and Saroya discuss the progress the PWHL has made in providing living wages and full-time opportunities for women in hockey. She shares her personal journey of retiring from playing to focus on her role as a PWHL broadcaster and the league's advocacy work. Saroya opens up about the challenges she faced as a Black woman in hockey and the importance of representation, leading her to her work with Black Girl Hockey Club and mentoring the next generation. The conversation also touches on Saroy's self-care practices, her interests outside of hockey, and her vision for the future of women's sports, highlighting the need for continued collaboration and progress.

More about Saroya Tinker:

Tinker was a Yale University Women’s Hockey Team member before graduating with a degree in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. She was drafted fourth overall to the Metropolitan Riveters in 2020 before joining the Toronto Six in 2021. In the 2022-23 PHF season, Saroya was named a PHF All-Star and the Toronto Six won the 2023 Isobel Cup.

Tinker runs Saroya Strong, a mentorship program for young Black women in sports. She is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Black Girl Hockey Club Canada, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Black Women in ice hockey.

In 2022, Saroya was part of Front Office Sports’ Rising 25 Class, named one of Sportsnet’s Top-25 Women in Hockey, and won the PHF’s Denna Laing Award, awarded to “the player most actively applying the core values of hockey to her community as well as growing and improving hockey culture.” She also won the TIFF People’s Choice Award for Uninterrupted Canada’s Black Ice.

Saroya is one of the faces of diversity and inclusion in hockey - she is continuously pushing the boundaries of the sport and improving it for the next generation of players. In the fall, Breaking Down Barriers, a docuseries showcasing stories of diversity in hockey, premiered on TSN. Saroya is the host, writer, and executive producer.

Follow along with Saroya:

Twitter: @SaroyaTinker71

Instagram: @saroyatinker71

Black Girl Hockey Club: blackgirlhockeyclub.org

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