While researchers have documented elite Indigenous hockey players' experiences when they leave home to play sports in the mainstream context, to date they have not examined how these experiences may vary based on sex and gender. By using Tribal Critical Race Theory, Indigenous feminisms, and reflexive thematic analysis, in this thesis, I examined the challenges and benefits that First Nations elite hockey players experienced when they left home to play in the mainstream context and how these challenges varied based on sex and gender. The 20 participants (10 female, 10 male) all had challenges with language and their new environments. Interestingly, while all the male participants reported experiencing racism, only two of the female participants reported such experiences, and they were of a less overt nature. The benefits that were experienced by both male and female athletes included athletic and personal growth, new experiences, and support from home. While both male and female athletes reported accruing benefits from leaving home, I found that the female athletes had to leave home to pursue hockey due to a lack of opportunities available to them, opportunities that were often available closer to home for male participants. I also found that both males and females reported receiving a great deal of support; this is particularly interesting given male hockey's higher profile. Taken together, these findings add nuance to the existing literature on Indigenous hockey players' experiences in the mainstream context.

Idrott och motion är ett av de största fritidsintressena i Sverige. Den svenska idrottsrörelsen bottnar i den ideella sektorn och det har skett en ökad professionalisering och kommersialisering främst inom elitidrotten. Idag är idrotten mer än bara en match, mervärden har blivit viktigare och man säljer ett helhetskoncept. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa hur organisationer inom den ideella sektorn hanterar professionalisering och kommersialisering, med avseende på elitishockeyn i Sverige. För att besvara studiens syfte har en flerfallstudie genomförts med hjälp av sex elitishockeyklubbar i Sverige. Urvalet bestod av klubbar från de två högsta ishockeyserierna och klubbarna representerar både större städer och mindre orter. Resultatet visar att samtliga elitishockeyklubbar är högst företagsliknande och att bolagiseringar kan ses som en del av professionaliseringen. Klubbarna har många beroendeförhållanden och anser att de går mot en fortsatt kommersialisering där fokus på idrott som underhållning ökar. / Sports and exercise are one of the most popular hobbies in Sweden. The Swedish sports movement stem from the non profit sector and there has been a increase in professionalization and commercialization mainly within the elite sports. Sports is more than just a game today, added value has become more important and one sells a total concept. The purpose of this thesis is is to highlight how organizations in the non profit sector manages professionalization and commercialization, with respect to elite hockey in Sweden. To answer the purpose of the study case studies have been conducted using six elite hockey teams in Sweden. The sample consisted of teams from the two top hockey leagues and teams representing both large cities and smaller towns. The result shows that all elite hockey teams are highly business-like and turning in to a corporation can be seen as a part of professionalizaton. Clubs have many interdependencies and see a continued development towards increades commercializaion with a focus on sport as entertainment.