Field hockey
Ava Winter and the U21 Canadian field hockey team finished fifth overall at the Junior Pan American Games, held Aug. 9 to 23 in Asunción, Paraguay.
"The experience was incredible," Winter said from Toronto, one of the stops on her 36-hour travel journey home. "The Paraguayan people were beyond accommodating and kind, and the venues were state of the art. We of course had our ups and downs but I’m so proud of how our team played."
Canada opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over host nation Paraguay before falling 6-0 to powerhouse Argentina in their second game. A 3-0 loss to Uruguay ended group play for Canada, sending the team to the classification round.
Canada then shut out Guyana 4-0 to finish in a tie for fifth overall with Mexico after rain caused the cancellation of the battle for fifth and sixth.
"This is a U21 multi-sport games and the average age of our group was 18, and for 10 out of 16 players (including myself), we received our first junior Caps," she said. "The competition was very intense, and gave me a real perspective on how this sport can be played, and I definitely am a better player for it."
Argentina, the United States and Chile won the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.
"Although we are always striving to do better, placing top five is a huge accomplishment and something we are proud of!" Winter said. "I’m so grateful for this opportunity and definitely want to thank my coaches Kyle Marks and Cassius Mendonca, they were beyond incredible and made this trip so much fun."
3x3 basketball
Shadynn Smid and Team Canada 3x3 placed sixth overall in the Junior Pan Am Summer Games tournament.
Canada opened group play with a narrow 21-20 loss to Puerto Rico, followed by a 21-13 win over Brazil. In the quarterfinals, Chile defeated Canada 21-16, ending the team’s medal hopes.
Smid and Team Canada bounced back to beat Paraguay 21-11 in a classification game, earning the right to compete for fifth place. However, Canada fell again to Puerto Rico by a single point, 20-19, finishing sixth overall. Argentina, Chile and Ecuador took the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.
Rowing
Shawnigan Lake School graduate and elite rower Alessandra Tuttle won silver with Team Canada in the women’s eight at the Junior Pan Am Summer Games in Paraguay.
Tuttle also earned bronze as part of Canada’s women’s coxless four.
