A pair of South Surrey ringette players are set to attend a Ringette Canada event later this month in Alberta.
Grace Kemp and Jaydie Sawada – both Earl Marriott Secondary students – are among 68 young ringette players invited to participate at La Relève U17 2019, an event set for Millennium Place in Sherwood Park from July 26-28.
Players at the event will be split into four teams, and will go head-to-head against one another in a round-robin format. In addition to three games, each team will also participate in three practices, as well as fitness testing.
According to a news release, the three-day event serves as “an entry point into the high performance pathway for ringette athletes, coaches and officials.”
“We are pleased to be able to provide graduating U16AA athletes with the opportunity to take part in a high performance environment while also introducing them to the requirements and lifestyle they can expect should they wish to pursue the high performance pathway as an athlete,” said Stephanie Laurin, Ringette Canada’s manager of high performance and athlete services.
“This event also provides developmental opportunities for our ringette coaches and officials, which is an important part of their growth as they progress on their individual high performance pathway.”
Being chosen for the national-level program is the latest on-ice accolade for Sawada, a goalie, and Kemp, who plays centre. Last February, Sawada was one of three South Surrey players on a Port Coquitlam-Port Moody team that won gold in the U16 division of the Kelowna Sweetheart Tournament, and in 2017, both Kemp and Sawada were members of the B.C. team that won silver at Western Canadian Ringette Championships.
Both players have also competed at the BC Winter Games.
The 68 players heading to Sherwood Park this month are from across the country, though just five are from B.C. In addition to Kemp and Sawada, other B.C. invitees include Kiandra Gustafson (Langley), Taryn Atkinson (Prince George) and Yvonne Orr (North Vancouver).
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