Last week, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced that "Damkronorna" will change its name to "Tre Kronor Dam". At the same time, the men's national team will be called "Tre Kronor Herr".
The reason for the change is, according to communications manager Linus Hugosson, that one wants to avoid "a subtle marking that dam and girls' hockey is something different".
The message did not come a day too early, thinks Sweden's team captain Anna Kjellbin.
It's positive. It feels well thought out and something that has been on the agenda for a while. Tre Kronor Dam and Tre Kronor Herr feels like the right way to go. It was about time, she says.
”No reason”
Kjellbin highlights the Swedish Ice Hockey Association's hockey school as an example of why the name change is positive. The activity, which is aimed at the youngest, is called Tre Kronors hockey school today.
We have more girls starting to play ice hockey at a young age. Then you can wonder why we are called Damkronorna when it is a school for girls with it. There is actually no reason why it should be two different names.
When the name change was made public by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, Hugosson said that they had received "pointers from researchers" that it is "not optimal how one designates its series and national teams where dam is often used as a prefix".
Eva Ossiansson, brand researcher at the University of Gothenburg, means that the name change is a symbolic act more than anything else.
It is timely that one makes this type of shift in names. I understand that they want to show that they do not make any difference between dam and herr. But the name itself does not show whether you make a difference or not. But it does how you treat the athletes and if they can practice their sport under equal conditions.
Avoid criticism
Ossiansson is clear that she cannot comment on this specific case, but notes that in some cases there may be cynicism behind when companies or organizations make this type of change.
It can be to avoid criticism so that one can point out that one has at least done this. Or it may be the beginning of a larger work that is initiated at the same time.
This week - starting on Thursday - the hockey ladies will play for the first time under the new name in a tournament in Switzerland.
