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Quesnel ringette player excited to help Team B.C.

Katie Young will play centre for the squad at 2019 Canada Winter Games
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Young is a defensive playmaker who has been playing ringette for 14 years. Submitted photo

Katie Young is looking forward to everything at her first Canada Winter Games.

The 19-year-old ringette player has been working towards this date since the first tryouts for Team BC were held in September of 2017.

She has been playing the sport since she was five and her older sister, Hannah, participated in the 2015 games.

Although she will be playing for her province, she will be thinking of her hometown when in Red Deer.

“I started in Quesnel and without Quesnel Ringette, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Young says.

“I grew up with the sport, so it’s always been a part of my childhood just going to all the tournaments and experiencing everything with teams.”

So far Young has already travelled to Halifax, Winnipeg and Montreal for tournaments with Team B.C. but the really special tournament is finally here and she thinks the squad is ready.

“We’re getting better every time we play together, so I think we’re all really excited for the games to start,” she says, “We finally got our new jerseys and no one knows what they look like, so the first game will be a huge reveal.”

Team B.C.’s first game will be against a difficult Ontario squad on Sunday (Feb.17).

“They’re a really good team,” says Young, “So we’ll be looking to start off on a really strong note.”

Young will be playing centre for the games.

She describes herself as a defensive focused playmaker who works very hard out on the ice.

While this is her first Canada Winter Games, she will be one of the veterans on a team with players ranging in age from 16 to 19-years-old.

Coaching might be in her future but Young is also thinking of trying out for the B.C. Thunder, a National Ringette League team based out of Vancouver, once the games are over.

Young enthusiastically recommends getting into a sport like Ringette for any young people.

“They expose you to so many people, so you know how to deal with people and you get so many experiences that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

“You learn how to be motivated.”

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