It may be the off season for many hockey players around the province, but for athletes competing in Team Alberta Programs, the hockey season is in full force.
The top 47 U18 female hockey players took to the ice at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary from June 30-July 5 with the goal of earning one of the twenty roster spots available for the Team Alberta squad set to compete at the 2009 National Women’s U18 Championship, November 4-8 in Surrey, BC.
“All the girls came into camp in great physical condition. We have a lot of female talent in this province making the decisions very hard for our staff,” said Jenn Lunn, coordinator, Team Alberta Female Programs.
The Team Alberta roster for the 2009 National Women’s U18 Championship will be released in early fall.
The following week, July 7-12, it was the top 46 U17 male athletes taking the ice at Father David Bauer for Provincial Camp. The top players will now be short listed and scouted with their club teams in September and October before the final player selections are made in mid November. The top 11 players from Alberta will join with the top 11 players from British Columbia to form Team Pacific slated to compete in the World U17 Hockey Challenge December 29-January 4, 2010 in Timmons, Ontario.
“We came up short last year settling with a silver medal at the World U17 Hockey Challenge. This year we want gold! I think our group this year will give us that opportunity,” said Tim Leer, senior manager of Development, Hockey Alberta.
The U16 Provincial Camp kicked off in Camrose with the males hitting the ice from July 13-19 and the females from July 23-26. The top athletes from this group will go on to represent Team Alberta at the Canada Winter Games in 2011. This year’s camp will have an added importance for the male athletes as it is the first year a team will be selected to compete in the U16 Western Challenge.
“It’s exciting to watch these players develop through the Team Alberta Program. We had a good chance to watch the majority of these athletes at the Alberta Cup in the spring and even since then the growth we have seen has been substantial,” said Justin Fesyk, coordinator, Team Alberta Male Programs.
From the U16 Provincial Camp, the top players will be short listed and scouted with their club teams before the final 20 players are selected to represent Team Alberta in late October. |