Capital Hoops is the annual matchup between the Carleton University Ravens and the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees men’s and women’s basketball teams. The games take place at the Canadian Tire Centre, with the women’s team playing at 6 p.m. this year, followed by the men’s team, who start at 8 p.m.
Every year, for the past three years, the Capital Hoops matchup game has drawn over 10,000 students. However, as anyone who has watched both the men’s and women’s teams games will tell you, the turnout for women’s games is noticeably lower than the men’s game. Tickets for both games are sold together, so there is no data on how many students turn out for the women’s game, but many of the seats in the lower bowl remain empty year after year. Fans start to show up at the end of the women’s game, in preparation for the men’s game.
Another issue stems from the fact that commuting to the arena from Carleton, staying to watch both games, and then returning to Carleton, takes a lot of time. For many students, this time commitment is unrealistic, so they choose to attend only the premier late game at 8 p.m.
Alternating the times that the men’s and women’s teams play each year would give the women’s team a chance to draw more fans to their games. Currently ranked second in the country, and as the only undefeated team in U Sports women’s basketball, they deserve to have just as many fans come out to see them play as their male counterparts.
