Marlins Week In Regina!
Submitted by Sue Jones

And what a week it was! Eleven of the girls and I left for Regina on Wednesday. The plane ride was fun and the girls were commended by other passengers and a flight attendant for their behaviour! They also entertained some passengers at the Winnipeg airport... it's amazing how much fun an iPod and earphones can be... thanks Jelena!

We arrived at the hotel in style! We had arranged a little surprise for the girls. We had a beautiful white stretch limo to take us to the hotel. The girls felt like royalty. One of my favourite quotes... "I always look at the tinted windows and pretend it's Avril Lavigne or someone in there... and now people are looking in at me!" We met Kasia at the hotel and had a pizza party and "Regina's Next Top Model" water polo style. It came down to a pose off with Jessica being the big winner!!

Thursday we spent some time at the mall and the park just up the street from our hotel while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Off to the pool for a practice, dinner, then early bed for the girls as we played the 1st game of the tournament on Friday morning against Regina! The girls worked hard against Regina, but the host team came out on top with an 11-2 victory. We started the planning right away for game two. On a positive note... Jessica made the front page of the LeaderPost newspaper (see photo below)!

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in a little and off to the pool for our next game. We suffered a defeat against the strong DDO1, but were quickly able to put it behind us for the Opening Ceremonies. We ended the day with a great talk and we were ready for the next day's morning game!

Sunday morning we faced Calgary. We started the warmup early, and it broke into a dance party with Coach Alison in the middle of it all holding the speakers. The girls looked relaxed and ready to win!! They scored 6 goals against Calgary and only allowed 1! It was a great game for everyone. 3rd star was given to Jelena and 1st star to Melanie!!

Out next game that day, we faced Bushido from Winnipeg. These girls were staying on our floor and even though they were a friendly bunch, they were tough in the pool. We fell to them 9-2, but worked very hard against them, 3rd star in this game went to Tara!!

Monday morning saw our last game. We took on the arch nemesis DDO2. The girls were focused and strong and ready to end on a high note. It was a fantastic game, the girls deserved this win. And of course, it was very sweet, because, "We Beat DDO!!!" They were very proud and definitely had reason to be. We finished the tournament in 11th place, or as we said, "#1 twice!!" Definitely a Victory! Congratulations girls!

We ended the weekend in fine fashion out at Long Lake. A big thank you to Cyndie for arranging this for us. The lake was beautiful, the barbeque and bonfire were very fun and the fireworks was a fantastic way to end the trip. I would also like to thank the Stingrays for being such good sports..."Hello, this is Joanne from the front desk..." That certainly allowed us a lot of laughs!!

A great week had by all. The girls smiles were the telltale sign of that.

Oh, and my wallet is safe and sound with Budget. It did a wonderful hiding act while I searched and searched in a bit of a panic while waiting in the Sobey's parking lot to see if the wallet they had was mine. Imagine, it was basically under my feet the entire time. As I said to the girls... when your parents say, "Look again" and you think you've looked everywhere... look again!!! I wish I had been at the airport to say good bye to everyone, but I had an interesting day and met some great people. Sometimes things happen for a reason!!

Thanks again girls for making my job easy and thanks to the coaches and Sharon for making it so much fun. I haven't laughed like that in a long time!

Nationals Marlins are #1 in our books!

Jessica makes the front page of the Regina Leader-Post newspaper!

Silly, hey?

Marlins cheer on the Stingrays

Shielding (from what?)

Marlins in the park

U16 Girls Nationals, Stingrays place 4th
Submitted by Sharon Lapins

The Stingrays and the Marlins traveled to Regina this past long weekend to participate in the U16 Girls Nationals that took place in the Lawson Aquatic Centre. The Stingrays, along with Cyndie Flett as our head coach, Kasia Hart as assistant, flew from Ottawa on Thursday morning via the scenic route through Calgary then back to Regina. Upon arriving at the Regina Inn, the host hotel for the event, we were greeted by many friends from other teams including Scarborough, CAMO and York as well as our sister team, the Marlins, who had flown into Regina the previous day.

We had managed to secure some pool time that same day, a nice way to familiarize ourselves with the environment that we would be playing in. The Stingrays level of excitement was high and it was evident in their voices and in their eyes. This team was hungry for a medal and couldn't wait to meet York the following day and to get things underway.

A total of thirteen teams from across Canada were now settled into their various hotels in Regina and, no doubt, many of them were also confident in their abilities to succeed at this Nationals. The competition was tough and we certainly did not underestimate the powerhouses such as Calgary, Storm and CAMO. Coming into this event after a difficult season of adjustment, our team showed mental grit and a team bond that nothing could unglue.

Our first game was on Friday against York, a game that the Stingrays dominated from the first whistle. With a final score of Stingrays 10- York 2, we began the competition on a high note, with game stars from Ottawa; Rebekka Steenkamer, Audrey Caron and Maria Lapins. Of our 20 shots on net, we buried 50% of them, not a bad way to start the event!

The following day, we would face our tough opponent, Calgary A. We prepared for this game with good food, rest, excellent pre-game talk and warm-up. We were ready. The game began and we were ahead by 2 at the end of first. Both teams played neck in neck, almost shot for shot throughout the entire match but, in the end, Calgary took the win by scoring one more than us, Calgary 7- Stingrays 6 and we suffered a very painful loss.

Our next game would be against Fraser Valley, an opponent that had proven determined to say the least. They came out strong, out-scoring us in the first quarter 5-1. Talk about having to seriously pull ourselves together and get back into the game! At the end of three, we had managed to lead the score 9-7. Of our 9 shots in the 3rd, 6 of them were goals. Looking very determined, the Stingrays finished the game ahead by two, Stingrays 12- FV 10. The game stars from Ottawa were Danielle Hirsh and Maria Lapins.

The game on Saturday vs Storm was a critical step in the hunt for a medal. The winner of this game would go on to the bronze medal game and, possibly, the gold medal game. The loser would automatically place fourth and be out of the tournament, a fate that neither team wanted as their own. This meant good mental and physical prep were necessary and both Cyndie and Kasia did an excellent job of leading them through these steps.

The crowd came out to watch this game, Calgary with it's very loud and boisterous fans and Ottawa with the many parents who had traveled to watch their daughters, the Marlins who cheered for their friends as well as the many coaches who were scouting both teams to assist them in their future games against them. The stands were packed full and, for those who have not been to this pool, it is a very intimate setting a little like DDO with the stands right on deck. At the end of first, the score was tied at 1 all and it was clear that this would be a challenge. Throughout the entire game, we out-shot Storm in every quarter but our finishing just wasn't there. Of our 18 shots on net, we only managed to score twice. We just couldn't get a break. The thing that was remarkable was that our girls never gave up! They kept attacking and attacking with powerful shots, tough mental determination and strength of character that is unmatched. At the end of the day, only one team gets to take the win and on this day, it was Storm 4- Stingrays 2. That fate of placing 4th became ours and it was a tough pill to swallow. The game star from Ottawa was Rebekka who never gave up the fight along with her teammates, giving 100% to the end. Congratulations also go out to Rebecca for making the tournament All-Star team!

Placing 4th was not the intended result at Nationals for the Stingrays but we have so much to be proud of as a team and an amazing group of young women. Hopefully the strength of character that the Stingrays have shown will inspire other young athletes to work hard, fight to the end and will make the hunger for a medal next year that much stronger. Walk tall, Stingrays.......you deserve it! We are all so proud of you!

Bitin', fightin' Titans, huh!

Stingrays at Opening Ceremonies

Go ahead - check my nails!

Wait a minute ... Are those Stingrays disguised as Marlins?

Stingrays cheer on the Marlins!

This is the life!

Rebecca is named to the tournament All-Star team!

Stingrays have a night out with Elvis!

Titans celebrate together at Long Lake