Hockey Alberta announced on Tuesday the top 20 athletes that have been named to the Team Alberta roster for the 2012 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, November 7-11 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
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The selection process started with an intense spring selection camp in May where a combined total of 88 athletes met to compete for one of the 46 spots at Summer Camp. Following the completion of the Summer Camp, the coaching and evaluation staff narrowed the talented field down to 27 players.
The short listed players then competed at a tournament in Edmonton facing the University of Alberta Pandas and two Bantam AAA male teams September 7 - 9.
“The tournament in Edmonton gave us a chance to see what the girls can do in game situations and against players at an elite level,” said Hockey Alberta’s Manager of Hockey Development, Mike Kraichy. “Narrowing down to just 20 players is difficult, but we believe we’ve put together a team that can play well in every facet of the game.”
The National Women’s U18 Championship is an event that brings together the top talent from across Canada. The event is held every year except when the Canada Winter Games are held (every four years). In 2011, Team Alberta finished seventh.
Of the 20 athletes, 12 are returning from the team that finished seventh in 2011, and three are returning from the team that won Gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
U18 Female is the final stage of the Team Alberta Female Program and one of the initial stages that Hockey Canada uses to help identify players for the National Program.
