A group of Withrow Park ball hockey moms are taking on the world.
The Withrow Knights, as they call themselves, are in Tampa Bay, Florida, competing in the 2014 Masters World Ball Hockey Championship.
They are the lone club team in the five-team field and are up against national teams representing Canada and Slovakia and two from the host United States.
Withrow was slated to open the round-robin tournament today (Wednesday, Sept. 17) against Team Canada.
On paper, the Withrow moms’ mission appears daunting: they are, after all, culled from the six women’s teams that are a part of the vibrant ball hockey program run out of Withrow Park for both youth and adults.
They’re also giving up a lot on age. The masters division starts at 35; the Withrow ladies average age would be in the 40s – and not on the low end.
On the other hand, they’re much more than beer league pretenders. They earned a silver medal at this summer’s provincial championships, while winning it last year (which qualified them for the world championship tournament) in the masters division. They’ve also earned a ticket to next year’s Canadian national championships.
They take it seriously with coaches, physio staff and exercise homework they have to account for each week.
As one of the players, Angie Ganter, noted Tuesday in a phone interview while on her way to Pearson International Airport, while they will face more skilled players in Tampa Bay, "we’re certainly going to be the most fit team down there."
Asked about her own fitness regimen, Ganter, a mother of two, adds, "a combination of playing hockey throughout the year – I play both ice and ball hockey in different leagues – swimming, elliptical, weight training and then just weekly runs."
And there are no ringers. Most are local moms who, after watching their kids play, thought it would be fun to give the sport a try themselves. Most or all of them have day jobs.
"We have a few doctors, I’m an emerg nurse, we have a photogrpaher, a bunch of business people, we have physio, HR – it’s just a wide range," Ganter said.
They’ve been working equally hard off the court on fundraising to help defray the sizeable costs to haul their entourage to Tampa Bay, including a popular toilet paper sale, hockey pools, one-day co-ed tourney, league dance – "we did quite well."
Players are Erin Hartnett, Tracey Ogus, Heather Pollock, Stephanie Barrington, Angie Ganter, Araina Gillis, Anne Scofich, Mary Nasello, Yani Hamdani, Lisa Martin, Lauren Bonsell, Julie Parker, Suzanna Mak, Anna Soong, Kathy vandervennen, Ali Chambers, Kylie White, Louise Mac Neil, Nancy Dayaratne, Nicola Harris, Fiona Marshall and Stephanie So. Coaches are David Valenta, Lenny Abramowicz and Clare Padmore; Donna Goldenberg is the team manager and doctor; and John Biggar is the physiotherapist.
For more info on the popular Withrow Park ball hockey league visit www.withrowballhockey.net
Check out the world masters tourney, which runs Sept. 16 to 21, at http://bit.ly/1mbvLnW
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