The Aurora Borealis Cup ( fi, Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the Finnish Champion in women's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

, the victorious team of the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...

playoffs. The Aurora Borealis Cup was created to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.

Project

The trophy had its genesis in a moment of inspiration that struck Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Finland, in September 2009, after a visit to the ''Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo'' (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum and Hockey Hall of Fame) in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

and conversation with Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the ''Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry:n'' (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association), and Jyrki Lumme. The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki. Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of implementation of the project. The design and manufacture was executed by Toronto-based Awardco. The completed Aurora Borealis Cup was presented by Ambassador Shapardanov and received by

Kalervo Kummola Kalervo Kummola (born 1945 in Raisio, Finland) is the Vice President of the International Ice Hockey Federation. He is a former member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the liberal conservative National Coalition Party from 1999 to ...

, Chairman of the

Finnish Ice Hockey Association The Finnish Ice Hockey Association ( fi, Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto, sv, Finlands Ishockeyförbund) is the governing body of ice hockey in Finland. In 1927, the Finnish Skating Association introduced ice hockey as part of its program and, throu ...

, on 21 March 2011. An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the ''Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo'', where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original ''

Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish Liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 1 ...

''.

Design

The design of the trophy pays homage to the natural and cultural similarities between Finland and Canada. Both

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...

nations are renowned for the ability to observe the

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of b ...

, also called the Northern Lights, after which the cup is named. Likewise, the choice of materials celebrate the countries' natural affinity. The metal elements of the trophy are Canadian

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

, the wood is

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...

, and a ring of

labradorite Labradorite (( Ca, Na)( Al, Si)4 O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect (schiller). Labradorite is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It ...

circles the foot of the cup. The cup itself depicts the Northern Lights over a coniferous

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

landscape. Text documenting the donation of the trophy is engraved in four languages on the upper tier of the base to highlight the

official bilingualism An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

of each country; the text appears in Finnish and Swedish, the

official languages of Finland The two main official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. There are also several official minority languages: three variants of Sami, as well as Romani, Finnish Sign Language and Karelian. Finnish Finnish is the language of the ...

, and in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and French, the official languages of Canada. The lower tiers of the base feature 60 metal plates, originally intended to be engraved with the names of the champion teams until the plates were filled in 2070.

Championship history

Finnish Champions by season

Notes: Sources:

References

External links

* League information and statistics fro
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(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora Borealis Cup Women's ice hockey competitions in Finland Ice hockey trophies and awards Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) trophies and awards Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) playoffs