In 2018-19, the Capitals will provide every elementary, middle, and high school P.E. teacher in the city with hockey skills training from the Washington Capitals community relations and youth hockey staff. The Capitals will also provide all schools as well as 42 recreation centers with a full set of branded street hockey equipment. The Capitals developed a curriculum for City Schools and BCRP to use with the street hockey program based on the USA Hockey American Development Model. Throughout the school year, Capitals staff will continue to provide guidance and instruction to City Schools and BCRP.
The programming, which will become a core unit in the school system's physical education curriculum, is part of the Capitals' investment of more than $3 million toward the development of youth hockey in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and is funded primarily by the National Hockey League's Industry Growth Fund (IGF). $400,000 has been awarded to initiatives focusing on diversity and $2 million has been allocated toward the access and advancement of ball and street hockey. The Capitals will contribute an additional $700,000 toward the growth of youth hockey in support of the project.
The NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) established the IGF within the 2013 collective bargaining agreement to advance the development of youth hockey. In 2016, the Capitals utilized IGF funding to launch a similar partnership with DC Public Schools. The Capitals introduced more than 48,000 students across 111 schools to hockey through a curriculum and equipment donation and continue to support the initiative with additional training and programming.
