The number of female ice hockey players has increased significantly during the last four decades (Reid & Mason 2015). However, there are still 10 times more male than female ice hockey players internationally (IIHC 2023a). Common for most ice hockey nations, the resources available in women´s ice hockey are much smaller compared to the men´s (Henriksson 2017; Gilenstam et al. 2008). For example, only 7 % of the female elite players in ice hockey can live from their athletic career compared to 99 % among the male players (Unionen 2020). Nevertheless, women´s ice hockey is a sport that currently experience rapid changes. Since joining the Olympic program in 1998, women´s ice hockey has started to grow in commercial interest. For example, the women´s final at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 between the USA and Canada was the most viewed game of the whole tournament (both men´s and women´s) (Reid & Mason 2015). Recently, the Canadian player Daryl Watts beat a women´s ice hockey record as she signed contract worth 150 000 US Dollar with the Toronto Six (CBC 2023). However, similar to many popular sports in Scandinavia, there is still a gender gap in terms of ambitions to become a professional athlete (Eriksen 2022; Ekengren et al. 2020). Previous research show that female ice hockey players adapt their athletic ambitions to what they believe is possible to achieve within the existing structures (e.g., limited opportunities for a professional career) (Gilenstam et al. 2008). The aim of the present project is to explore female elite ice hockey players´ perception of their athlete talent development environments (ATDE) in different career stages (e.g., junior-to-senior transition and mastery to discontinuation). The project will focus on ice hockey players in Norway, Sweden and Canada. The data will be collected with a qualitative approach and presented in four separate research articles. The preliminary focus area of each research article is listed below: 

1. Young elite ice hockey players´ (both boys and girls) in Norway perceptions of their ATDEs in the early stages of the junior-to-senior transition (JST)?
2. Young elite ice hockey players´ (both boys and girls) in Norway perceptions of their ATDEs at the of the junior-to-senior transition (JST)?
3. Female ice hockey players perceptions of their opportunities for athletic development and performance as seniors in the mastery stage of the career
4. Coaches´ perceptions of working with women´s ice hockey and female specific needs during different career transitions