There is a good chance 14-year-old Jada Schatschneider will spend at least part of next Valentine’s Day on skates on the ice proudly representing her zone at the Alberta Winter Games.
The Rimbey teen has been selected to play on the team representing Parkland Zone 4 at the 2016 Alberta Winter Games inMedicine Hat to be held Feb. 13 to 16.
The player rosters for the eight zone teams in the female competition, along with the staff for each team, were announced onDecember 8. Teams were selected to represent each of the province’s zones including Sunny South, Big Country, Calgary,Parkland, Yellowhead/Blackgold, Edmonton, Northeast and Peace Country. Each team includes two goalies, six defense players and 12 forwards.
Approximately 600 players who were born between 2001 and 2004 attended zone selection camps held at locations across the province, December 4-6.
Schatschneider’s dad, Jason said his daughter did well at the tryouts even though she was battling the flu at the time.
“Her evaluations were pretty strong,” he said.
Schatschneider, who played much of her minor hockey in Rimbey, now is a second year Bantam and plays defense for theBantam Triple A hockey team in Red Deer. As a member of the team she is kept busy with two practices a week as well as dryland training. The team travels to Vauxall, Calgary and Grande Prairie to play and competition is stiff.
“It is the highest level of hockey for that age in Alberta,” said Jason.
Jada said she is excited about the prospect of competing in the Games and also a little nervous.
She says hockey is her favourite sport, but she also likes baseball and plays centre field in the summer for the River CityHornets in Edmonton.
The Alberta Winter Games is a multi-sport event for developing athletes, aged 11-17 years old. The Winter Games were first hosted in 1976 in Banff, and occur each even-numbered year. The athletes are selected to represent the eight zones inAlberta in 20 sports such as hockey, badminton, gymnastics, skiing and skating.
Hockey Alberta coordinates the ice hockey portion of the Winter Games, as a core segment of its Development Program. TheWinter Games provide players, coaches, trainers and referees an opportunity to discover the great qualities of competitive hockey starting with the zone camp and selection process, through to competing in the Games.