INNISFAIL – Two Innisfail Hurricanes water polo players are helping put Innisfail on the water polo map.
Olivia Bergeron and Kayla Richmond earned a bronze medal after competing with the Calgary Mako U14 girls' team in the annual John Csikos Alberta Open Invitational Water Polo Tournament.
The annual event took place in Calgary from March 14 to 17.
“It’s a very long-running tournament. It’s been running for 34 years,” said Ray Bergeron, president of the Innisfail Hurricanes Water Polo Club.
The invitational tournament for 12U, 14U and 16U teams is one of the premier invitational tournaments for youth water polo in Canada, noted Bergeron.
Both Bergeron and Richmond play for the Hurricanes during the week and also play competitively with the Calgary Mako 14U girls' team.
“The Innisfail Hurricanes are very proud of the two girls. They’ve worked very hard with the Calgary Mako and it takes a lot of commitment to play in the city in addition to playing here,” said Bergeron. “Both of the girls have been playing very well.”
In addition to their weekly training with the Hurricanes, the girls also train on weekends in Calgary and play competitively with the Mako in both the city league and provincial league within the Alberta Water Polo Association (AWPA), noted Bergeron, adding this is Olivia's second season and Richmond’s first with the Mako 14U girls' team.
The tournament had a total of 30 teams competing in both male and female categories, from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta.
With the Hurricanes season now wrapped up, Olivia Bergeron and Richmond will continue to train with the Calgary Mako as the club prepares for the upcoming provincial championships in Edmonton on April 13 and 14.
“The team has played very well this year,” said Bergeron. “They’re currently sitting in first place. They have not lost in provincial league play so they’re going into the provincial tournament ranked number 1.”
The top two teams at provincials will represent Alberta at the westerns in Calgary from May 10 to 12 .
