Eight Flin Flon teens will face athletes from all over the province when the Norman girls’ volleyball team heads to the Manitoba Summer Games in Steinbach this August.
The Manitoba Summer Games are held every four years, drawing thousands of players from all over the province to compete in 12 different sports, from sailing to triathlons. Twelve regional teams compete at the summer games in the girls volleyball category, and regional team tryouts are open to anyone within the age category for each sport.
Team manager Colleen McKee said Flin Flon’s young volleyball players faced stiff competition at regional tryouts, which were open to any girls born since 2002 living in northern Manitoba.
“It really shows how strong of a volleyball core we have in Flin Flon,” said McKee. “These girls did really well…it was impressive that eight made it.”
Team coach Kyla Reierson estimated 33 players tried out for the Norman team, with successful players selected by a visiting representative from Volleyball Manitoba.
The local players on the Norman team include Maryn McKee, Madison McIntyre, Leah Mote, Meghan Oliynyk, Abby Quick, Rylee Reierson, Meadow Taylor, and Elextra Colquhoun.
The 12-player team also includes two athletes from The Pas and two from Thompson.
Reierson said the Flin Flon players have been practicing together since January -- at first in preparation for the tryouts, and now for the summer games.
Reierson and Hapnot athletic coordinator Amy Olenick have been coaching the team with assistance from former local player Mikayla Gawiak.
However, with four team members living hours away, the team is limited in its opportunities to practice as a group.
Reierson said the 12 players have practiced as a team just once, and three more group practices are planned for the coming weeks.
With weekly practices in Flin Flon, the local players have shown huge improvement, Reierson said -- improvements that should serve them well when they head to Steinbach next month.
For some players, the competition could even lead to something more: according to the Sport Manitoba website, the Manitoba Summer games can be a key jumping-off point for athletes who want to pursue their sport beyond school athletics.
“The Games help to identify Manitoba athletes who have the potential to advance to higher levels of competition: Provincial Team, National Competition, and the Canada and Western Canada Games,” the site reads.
No matter how they rank, though, the young athletes are likely to enjoy the experience of competing at the multi-sport games.
“It’s like a mini-Olympics,” said McKee, explaining that players and coaches stay overnight and eat their meals as a group in an athletes’ village.
“So it’s kind of a neat experience for these girls.”
