Florence Schelling joins SC Bern, becomes first female GM of top-level men’s team

Switzerland goalie Florence Shelling celebrates a victory over Russia in 2012. (Toby Talbot/AP)

Swiss National League club SC Bern has hired former Swiss goalie Florence Schelling as its new general manager, making Schelling the first woman to become GM of a top-level club in professional men’s hockey.

Schelling, 31, represented Switzerland as a goalie at 11 world championships and four Olympics. At the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, she was named tournament MVP while leading her country to the bronze medal. Schelling also has a Masters degree in Science in Business Administration and has worked as an assistant coach with the under-18 Swiss national women’s team.

Earlier this year, Schelling shared her thoughts on the importance of representation in the hockey world, via an interview with Olympics.org.

“We talk about hockey when it’s men, and women’s hockey when it’s women. For hockey fans, it’s all just a game of hockey,” Schelling said.

“…Women’s hockey just needs to be more present. The more of us who are out there, visible, the more popular the sport will become.”

Finishing ninth among 12 teams in the Swiss National League, Bern missed the cut for the 2020 post-season, though they were eventually cancelled as the sports world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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