Learning Experience For Five

Living in British Columbia allows us to do things during the winter months that you are unable to do in other parts of Canada during the same time period.

One such sport is golf, where we have individuals travel to our part of the world to either practice, play or simply work on the sport.

Golf in BC is huge for all ages and thus the reason we (BC) has turned out some impressive golfers on the world stage and now it’s time for the young girls to impress the world.

I recently received a notice from British Columbia Golf about the BC Girls team that will anchor at the World Junior Championship.

Enjoy the read:

Scoreboards rarely tell the real story of a golf tournament and for five British Columbia girls who were selected to play at The Marshes for the World Junior Girls Championship, that could not be more true.

While South Koreans and Scandinavians dominated the top of the leaderboard, the Canadian girls, led by Alisha Lau, Kathrine Chan and Euna Han on Team Canada 2 and Hannah Lee, Tiffany Kong and Ontario’s Grace St-Germain on Team Canada 1, were the hometown favourites who bravely played on despite their golf games not being at their peaks.

The five Lower Mainland girls had their share of ups and downs but by the final round, when they played together in three groups with girls from China, they were all smiling and celebrating the responsibility of representing Canada with pride and honour.

On the only cold day of the tournament, Lau was sporting a Canada toque, Lee was wearing a headband and golfing mitts were being packed into each player’s golf bags.

Team Canada coaches Ann Carroll for Team Canada 1 and Mike Martz for Team Canada 2, could not have been more proud of their young charges. “From a team point of view, it’s nice to see how each of them props the others up,” said Martz.

“On day 1, we had Alisha and Euna’s scores counting, and then on day 2 it was Alisha and Kathrine. (On Day 3), it’s Kathrine and Euna so you can see they’ve all chipped in, they all feel like they’re contributing to the team.”

“I think playing in an international event like this (accelerates) their learning and gives them confidence that even though they may not have played their best, they still know they can play against other girls from around the world,” said Carroll. “They tried their best and they put their heart and soul into this and that’s all I can ask.”

Carroll and Martz tried to create a fun atmosphere without dwelling too much on the results from the actual tournament.

The team stayed in the luxurious Brookstreet Hotel, which overlooks the course and is adjacent to the worldwide head offices for massive tech companies like Wilan and Huawei.

This is the world of Sir Terry Matthews, who owns The Marshes and many of the buildings and land all around this area in Kanata, approximately 25 kilometres from downtown Ottawa.

While there was homework to be done each night before their 10 p.m. bedtimes, the girls also took a tour of the sites of Downtown Ottawa, including the Parliament buildings.

In addition, after the second round, all 44 competitors and their coaches had a fun barbecue and mini-golf putting competition at the facility adjacent to the clubhouse.

“It was a fun night and exactly what the girls needed,” said Carroll, who added the night gave all the competitors a chance to be friends first and competitors second. “We’ve been trying to make it as fun as possible for them so they can enjoy the experience.”

Thanks to www.twitter.com/AlfieLau for all the info and the photo’s.

Sportswave wishes them all the best.