Andrew Edwards/Special to the Record Searchlight
 |  Redding Record Searchlight

Redding-area native Tawny Cowell carries a lot of titles with her nowadays.

Board President of the Shasta Roller Hockey League, Nutrition Services Director for the Shasta Union High School District, and — maybe the most strenuous — Mom of 9-year-old and 11-year-old boys, whose love for roller hockey mirrors her own.

She recently added another title to the list: champion of Team USA’s first-ever Women’s Masters Inline Hockey World Cup. 

The inaugural event took place from May 26-30 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a quaint town that hugs the Bavarian Alps and serves as a ski destination in the colder months. It’s been held for men since 2017, this being the first year it’s included a women’s division, which is for ages 35 and older, granting an opportunity for those to continue their passion past their prime.

Team USA, which consisted of a 16-person roster selected through a series of earlier tryouts, won all six of its games. That included a 4-3 victory of France ending in a shootout for the gold medal on Friday, May 30. Germany, Italy and Mexico also fielded a national team.

Cowell, 38, led a stellar defensive effort that saw the USA allow only one goal per game throughout the tournament. It counted for the least of any team that competed.

“It was such an honor to be part of something that was so much bigger than me,” Cowell said. “For women and girls and sports in general, showing that you don’t have to stop, you can keep playing and that there are avenues where you can continue to grow in something you love outside of your daily work life.”

Much of the team had never met each other before, aside from a few prior organized practices and tournaments and a Zoom call that helped the group acclimate, Cowell said. It was a roster composed of six women from California, four from Arizona and the rest from seven other states.

Cowell and her teammates were responsible for funding the trip on their own. Through an online donation site, Cowell was able to raise close to $2,000 to help with costs. She stressed that while the impact this experience had on her was life-changing, the ripple effect it had on the community was just as special to see.

“I can’t tell you how supported I felt by our local community for hockey, it was just kind of unreal,” Cowell said. “The excitement it brought to those around me was inspiring.”

Carrying on what her dad helped start decades ago

Cowell’s late father helped start what is now known as the Shasta Roller Hockey League when he moved himself and his family to Shasta County in the early 1990s.  Now, about 30 years later, Cowell is the Board President of the non-profit organization, and one of Shasta County’s biggest advocates for roller hockey.

“There’s been a lot of hands in it over the years and a lot of people keeping it going,” Cowell said. “Now we look at it as it’s our turn to create this love for this sport, that way it can continue going after we’re done.”

The league offers a wide range of competition for different age groups, much of which is coed, in addition to private instruction and travel teams. They often collaborate with the North American Roller Hockey Championships, also known as NARCh, which is one of the premier roller hockey collectives around.

During the high point of the season, Cowell, her husband Brian, and their two sons, Cooper and Kolton, will spend up to five days a week at the Shasta Roller Hockey Rink. For Brian and Tawny, it’s a culmination of playing, coaching and fulfilling their board duties; Brian is the General Manager of Operations and Player Development.

“We have moms and dads that are picking it up because their kids are playing, and it’s really neat to watch the kids come out and cheer on the parents, and the parents cheer on their kids,” Cowell said. “You’re just really creating this family environment, it’s just so much fun.”

In July, Cowell will coach an all-girls team at the first-ever nine-and-under girls division at NARCh in Irvine. In fact, Cowell even played with a few of the girls’ moms when she was growing up — at the same rink they play at to this day.

“It’s unlike any of the other rec sports that we’ve ever been a part of,” Cowell said. “You just really create lifelong friends.”

Shasta Roller Hockey League’s primary facility resides at the Redding Sports Park, formerly known as Big League Dreams, which has been a product of recent turmoil of the past year or so. In July 2024, the facility abruptly closed after Big League Dreams decided to withdraw from its agreement with the city to manage the park. The city of Redding has since sued the former operator.

Cowell said the city has been collaborative and gracious in ensuring they’ve had a place to play while the long-term plans for the complex are being worked out.

“Right now, I think it’s still kind of all up in the air. I think the city has really prioritized that this is an important community space and we’re feeling comfortable with that,” Cowell said.