Name: Moira Kathleen
Hometown: Guelph
Program: Planning 2A
Tell me about yourself:
I’m from Guelph, Ontario. I have lived and played ringette there my entire life. I’m currently in my 2A term of Honours Planning, and I really love design and architecture. I have played ringette for almost 13 years and this year is actually my first year back after taking a year off last year to start university. Last year I only played recreational ringette but I missed it so much that I knew I had to get back on the ice again. Ringette has been my life for the past 13 years and ice rinks have basically been my second home.
What first got you into Ringette?
I started playing ringette when I was 6 because one of my best friends at the time was playing. I remember asking my mom if she would take me to see one of my friends games and I loved it so much that I’m pretty sure I asked her that night to sign me up so I could get out on the ice.
What will training in the USA mean for you?
Playing in the US just means that I have to manage my time very well between training, school, work, and friends. It’s a lot of commitment as well, as training with my team takes up whole weekends at a time. Luckily, we only have a few training camps before we go to Worlds in December so I don’t have to travel back and forth too often. A lot of the training we do is personal/individual training on and off the ice. We have this app that we use that tracks our daily physical activity and heart rate etc. It allows us to compare with other teammates how we are doing and encourage eachother to improve running times and weight reps for example. Also, the app connects each team member to our personal trainer and coach so that they can also monitor our progress and training even when we aren’t together physically. This past month has been really hectic with school starting and everything so I haven’t been able to get in as much training as I wanted but now that I’m back into the “school mode”, Ill be able to do what I need to do to be ready for Worlds.
The 2015-2016 World Ringette Championships are being held in Helsinki, Finland from the December 27, 2015 to January 4, 2015. We will be playing teams from Finland, Sweden, Canada, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The World Championships will also be at the same time and place as the World Juniors for Hockey.
Are you currently playing?
Yes I am. The way the process of playing is kind of confusing but I am actually on two teams. I play for the US national team and then as a requirement for training and to keep in shape, I also play with a U18+ A team out of Ayr, a smaller town just south of Cambridge. With my Ayr team we practice and play league games monthly and then we also play in various tournaments throughout the year. With the US National team, we have 2 training camps, one was at the end of august and one this weekend over thanksgiving, and then play in the World Championships in Finland at the end of December.
Who is your ringette idol/ role model?
If I had to pick one, I would have to say that it is my defence partner from when I played AA ringette back in Guelph. She plays for the University of Western team now and I haven’t played with her in a while but she is one of the people who always inspired me to be better. She is probably one of the best defensemen I know and she always has a positive attitude and works hard both on and off the ice. She is the type of ringette player that I always tried to be.
Did anyone inspire you to play?
My friends inspired me to start playing ringette and then when it came time to try out for the US team, my family and friends supported me through the whole tryout process. I found out about the US national team 3 years ago and have wanted to play ever since.
Any achievements you would like to brag about?
I would have to say that making Team USA would have to be my biggest achievement of all as it took a lot of training and dedication to actually make the team but I also am lucky to have been able to be on Team Ontario three times and play at the Canadian Nationals with my Guelph AA team. We traveled to Moncton, Fredericton, and Regina to play against all the other provinces. These experiences were great and even though we never won nationals, it was still the experience of a lifetime.
How have your trials and tribulations though this affected you as a person?
They have taught me that if I want something, I’m going to have to work for it and its not just going to be handed to me on a silver platter. I trained for 6 months previously before making this team and I have a lot more training still to come. This experience has also taught me that sacrifices are going to have to be made in order to achieve “dreams” (cheesy I know).