With a distinctive Tsawwassen flavor, the national women’s field hockey team is set to begin its 2022 international schedule as it looks to secure a berth in this summer’s World Cup in Europe.
Canada heads to Chile next week for the Pan American Cup with the goal to earn one of the three World Cup spots up for grabs.
Canada will play Mexico (Jan. 19), USA (Jan. 21) and Peru (Jan. 23) in Group “B” round-robin play. First place will earn them a berth directly to the semi-finals, slated for Jan. 27, which would mean one more win from locking up a trip to Spain and the Netherlands this July.
Former men’s national team standout and Tsawwassen’s own Rob Short took over the head coaching duties last fall. One of the players he is leaning on is defender Sara McManus.
With a 187 international caps, she is one of Canada’s most experienced and decorated players.
The 28-year-old South Delta Secondary graduate came-ever-so-close to earning her first trip to the Olympic Summer Games when Canada dropped a shootout heartbreaker to Ireland in a wild card qualifier.
Still, the strong showing reflected the program’s considerable recent progress and has led to a decade-high ranking of 13th in the world with a shorter cycle leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. A tune-up for the Pan Am Cup was a five-game sweep of the U.S. back in November in San Diego that saw the Canadians outscore their hosts 9-2 in the series.
The trip to Chile and the potential appearance in Europe this summer, has led to an extensive fundraising campaign.
The total cost of competing in Santiago is approximately $75,000 with travel for the team costing $40,000 and food and accommodation costing another $35,000. The team’s donation page can be found here.
