By Jake Wray, North Delta Reporter

Three young ringette players from North Delta and their teammates brought home a gold medal from the 2018 B.C. Winter Games last weekend.

Madison Maichin, Abbi Krzysztofik and Keeley Willams were part of a composite team consisting of 15 players from various local ringette associations in the Vancouver-Coastal zone.

The girls were joined by fellow Delta Ringette Association players Alexandra Zed (Ladner) and Makayla Anderson (Richmond), as well as coach Lisa Cadeau (North Delta) as the team traveled to Kamloops and faced off against seven others in the under-15 age category between Feb. 22 to 25.

Vancouver-Coastal won the gold medal in a close final match against a team from the Fraser River zone.

The team鈥檚 success, Maichin said, was largely due to the bonds they forged with one another, despite having only five practices together prior to the tournament.

鈥淲e had a really good connection,鈥� said the 15-year-old centre. 鈥淚 think it showed in the end, in the final score.鈥�

Maichin said it was hard to say goodbye to her teammates once the trip was over.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really sad,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone plays for their own teams in the area, and some people might not see each other in a while, or ever, so it was kind of bittersweet.鈥�

Krzysztofik, 14, who played defence for the team, said ringette is an integral part of her life as it fuels her personal growth and is a chance for her to make new friends.

鈥淸Playing ringette] allows me to make new friends from, not just Delta but, say, from Burnaby or Vancouver,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t allows me to have connections between multiple girls around the Lower Mainland.鈥�

The team enjoyed bonding with players other teams at the tournament as well, Krzysztofik said, particularly at a tournament social event where players stayed up dancing until 11 p.m.

鈥淲e all kind of enjoyed having a chance to mingle around with the other [teams] and talk, and sing and dance,鈥� she said, noting that many of the players enjoyed singing Journey鈥檚 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop Believin鈥�,鈥� the theme song for the tournament.

Krzysztofik said she made an Instagram post after winning the gold medal where she reflected on her coaches and the many lessons she has learned from them over the years.

鈥淲ork hard. Never give up. Push through it. Focus, and believe,鈥� she said, reading aloud from the post. 鈥淭hose are the words that made me the player I am and got me to where I am.鈥�

Lisa Cadeau, the team鈥檚 head coach, said she was impressed the team managed to gel with one another so quickly.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard thing to do with the format that we鈥檙e given, with the limited ice time that we have,鈥� she said, adding that she particularly enjoyed watching her players forge those new bonds.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 probably the best part about it is just watching them develop friendships with players they don鈥檛 really know but they鈥檝e maybe played against for quite a few years.鈥�

editor@northdeltareporter.com
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