Sara Waters will be taking a giant leap towards fulfilling
her goal of earning a spot on Team Canada when she laces up for one of the
National Ringette League clubs during the upcoming 2005-2006 season.
During 2004-2005, Sara was a member of the Whitby Belle 'AA' team which
competed in the Central Ontario Ringette League. This was the highest
level at which that a girl her age could compete in the province. That
meant juggling her time between classes at Laurentian University. Just
about every weekend of the season, Sara was on the road to Southern
Ontario to play in about 50 league and tournament games for Whitby.
On top of that, Sara was also a member of the Laurentian University
varsity ringette team.
This year, she will face the same grueling schedule as she
graduates to the National Ringette League and will play for one of the
four Ontario teams in that league. She will be playing for Richmond Hill,
Waterloo, Gloucester or Cambridge. She will also be a full time student in
the Liberal Sciences program at Laurentian and will once again play on the
varsity team.
At the age of 19, Sara, who has been playing since she was 4 years
old, is considered a top future prospect for the Team Canada
National squad. She has the size, speed and experience that will make her
a valuable addition once she has a couple of seasons of play in the NRL
under her belt.
"Ringette is really a great team sport," explained Sara.
"You have to pass the ring to get it from zone to zone, so you don't
see any players trying to hog the ring. And with no body checking allowed
the game is much faster."
Sara doesn't have dreams of making "millions" of dollars from
playing ringette, but she is proud to be on the leading edge of making the
sport more popular. She also wants to be very much involved in promoting
the sport through coaching and assisting in the administration of the
minor organizations.
"Last year was the first year for ringette at Laurentian, and we
are hoping to see the league grow in numbers during the next few
years," Sara declared. "We are also working on getting the sport
recognized by the Olympic Committee and perhaps one day soon Team Canada
will be playing for a gold medal. That is one of my biggest goals. To play
on Team Canada in the Olympics."
During the summer months Sara plays fastball with the Sudbury Minor
Girls Softball Association to keep in shape.
Local fans can see Sara in action in November when her team travels to
Valley East for an exhibition game and skills clinic in mid-November.
