The Aurora Borealis Cup ( fi, Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the

Finnish Champion In Finland, the ''Suomen mestaruus'' (SM; ‘Finnish Champion’) is the winner of the highest level of national competition in a particular sport. ''Suomen mestaruussarja'' (Finnish for ‘Finnish Championship’) is the competition in which the w ...

in women's

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

, 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 , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

) in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

and conversation with Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the ''Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry:n'' (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association), and

Jyrki Lumme Jyrki Olavi Lumme (born July 16, 1966) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and SM-liiga. After beginning his career in Finland, playing with Ilves Tampere for three season ...

. The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community with significant financial contributions from

Osuuspankki OP Financial Group is one of the largest financial companies in Finland. It consists of 180 cooperative banks and their central organization. “OP” stands for “osuuspankki” in Finnish, literally meaning “cooperative bank”. The financi ...

. Several Canadian former players, including

Sami Jo Small Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. As a member of the Canadian national team, she was a three-time Olympic medallist and four-time World Championship medallist. One of the founders of the now defun ...

and

Darren Boyko Darren Boyko (born January 16, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Boyko is best known for a List of players who played only one game in the NHL, one-game stint in the NHL and the Swedish Hockey League, Elitserien. He played ...

, 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 sv, Samling ...

, 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, through ...

, 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 195 ...

''.

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 regions of Earth, 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 (Greenla ...

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 br ...

, 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 http ...

, 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 Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

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 Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, the official languages of Finland, 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 ide ...

and French, the

official languages of Canada The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada," according to Canada's constitution. "Official ...

. 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
Eliteprospects.com
an

an

(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