July 6, 2000
NR.053

TWENTY-EIGHT PLAYERS TO ATTEND WOMEN'S NIKE
UNDER 22 TEAM SELECTION CAMP IN CALGARY, AB
FROM AUGUST 13-21, 2000

CALGARY, AB - Twenty-eight of the best Under 22 women hockey players in Canada have been invited to the National Women's NIKE Under 22 team's selection camp at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, AB, from August 13-21, 2000, the Canadian Hockey Association announced on Thursday.

Head coach Karen Hughes and assistants Nancy Wilson and Margot Page will oversee the eight-day NIKE camp.

The Canadian Hockey Association launched the National NIKE Under 22 Development camp during the 1998-1999 season. The program gives younger players an opportunity to experience international competition, on the international ice surface and to experience everything that international hockey encompasses such as international travel, different playing styles, international officiating, etc.

The NIKE Under 22 camp is part of the development program for Canada's National Women's team, evaluating young ëup and coming' players. Under 22 players may be called upon over the course of the season to play with the National Women's Team at events such as the 3 Nations Cup, the TSN Challenge or even the Women's World Hockey Championship.

"The NIKE Under 22 camp has made great strides in the three years that it has been in operation," said Gaetan Robitaille, General Manager, Female High Performance Programs. "The NIKE Under 22 camp is designed to develop skills and also give the opporutnity to evaluate the talent of young women's hockey players in Canada."

Following the NIKE camp, the roster will be trimmed down to 22 players in time for the team to face the USA in a three-game series in Western Canada following the evaluation camp.

"The coaching staff is extremely excited about the young and talented players that will be attending this year's NIKE camp," said Karen Hughes, Head Coach of the National Under 22 team. "Women's hockey in Canada continues to grow, and we are seeing some great young players entering into this program."

The National Women's NIKE Under 22 Selection camp roster includes goaltender Charlene Labonte, who played last year with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans of the QMJHL, forward Cherie Piper, the 1999-2000 High School Athlete of the Year in Toronto, ON and forward Danielle Bourgeois of the CIAU Women's Hockey Champion University of Alberta Golden Bears.

The roster also includes 11 returning players from the 1999-2000 National Under 22 Team. That team won two out of three games against the USA in August, 1999 and went on to capture the Four Nations Tournament in Switzerland in February, 2000. Returning players are : goaltender Tania Pinelli, defenders Gillian Ferrari, Colleen Sostorics, Carla MacLeod, Dana Pretty and Correne Bredin, and forwards Cherie Piper, Danielle Bourgeois, Annie Desrosiers, Lara Perks and Gina Kingsbury.