Roster and Staff for Champions Challenge II released

May 27, 2009

Field Hockey Canada and head coach Louis Mendonca released on Wednesday the names of the eighteen players and five staff who will make up Canada’s National Women’s Team at the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) 2009 Champions Challenge II to be held in Kazan, Russia from June 21 – 27.

The team includes a lot of youth with few veterans of the international scene.  Fourteen of the athletes hail from British Columbia, with three from Ontario, and one from Prince Edward Island.  Ten of the players have less than 10 caps (international games) on their resume.

“We have a young team right now but I’m really excited about the direction our program is heading and I think we have the potential to surprise a few teams in this tournament,” says leading cap holder Stephanie Jameson, of Vancouver, B.C.  “It’s a great opportunity to compete against countries that are ranked just above and below us, and to see how we stack up against them.”

Belgium, Belarus, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Russia, and Ukraine will join Canada at the competition.  Canada, sitting 19th in the world, is below all but three of those countries in the international rankings.

National team novice Jessalyn Walkey, who will be competing in her first FIH-level event, relishes the chance to represent Canada.  “The opportunity to see and experience the world while representing your country doing what you love is incredible,” says the native of Rockwood, Ontario.  “It’s one thing to train, but to stand before your flag, singing proudly, moments before putting your heart on the line for an international match, is a whole other world.”

This will be the first competition for the women since a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Pan American Cup last February in Bermuda where many of the athletes were experiencing a major international tournament for the first time.  The last four months of the program have involved identification camps, the start of a new carding cycle, and lots of training.

“I think we are really excited to be playing in a tournament right now.  We have great expectations of ourselves to improve on the execution of our overall team play,” says veteran Azelia Liu of Scarborough, Ontario.  Liu will once again be back-stopping the team in goal.

The Champions Challenge II is an international field hockey competition sanctioned by the FIH that will be making its debut in 2009.  The tournament is held every two years and is contested by the top eight teams not competing in the premier-level Champions Trophy or Champions Challenge I.  The winner of the competition will be promoted to the Champions Challenge I in 2011.

Roster:

Abigail Raye, Kelowna BC

Amanda Stone, Richmond BC

Anna Kozniuk, North Vancouver BC

Azelia Liu, Scarborough ON

Diana Roemer, Mill Bay BC

Jacqueline Trautman, Delta BC

Jessalyn Walkey, Rockwood ON

Kate Gillis, Kingston ON

Katie Baker, Argyle Shore PE

Katie Rushton, Victoria BC

Natalie Wise, Surrey BC

Paige Norris, Victoria BC

Poonam Sandhu, Vancouver BC

Shannon Elmitt, West Vancouver BC

Stephanie Jameson, Vancouver BC

Stephanie Nesbitt, North Vancouver BC

Thea Culley, Rossland BC

Tyla Flexman, Vancouver BC

Staff:

Head Coach – Louis Mendonca

Assistant Coach – Robin D’Abreo

Manager – Sheena Scott

Video Technician / Assistant Coach – John Desouza

Physiotherapist – Andrea Reid

For more information please visit the FIH website