2016 Team Alberta Announced
CALGARY – Team Alberta 2016 has been announced for the upcoming season. Overall, the team is comprised of nine male players, eight female players and nine boys on the development team. The 26 players will represent the province of Alberta over the course of the 2016 season and will participate in a variety of provincial, national, and international events.
Returning to Team Alberta is Brendan McDougall, one of three players from last year’s team with a runner-up finish at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship. Landon Stellingwerff makes his return to Team Alberta after a T25 finish at the Glencoe Invitational in 2015. Logan Carver who finished T7 at the PGA Junior Masters in 2015, also makes his return to the team.
Several players from the 2015 Boy’s Development Team made the jump to Team Alberta in 2016. Those players include Max Sekulic, winner of the 2015 Nike Golf Junior Championship, Ethan Choi, 2015 Alberta Bantam Champion, and Michael Lavorato, who finished T7 at the PGA Junior Masters last year.
New to Alberta Golf’s High Performance Program is Chandler McDowell who represented Alberta at the Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo in 2015 where he placed third, earning a bronze medal in the individual competition. Chris Horton is another new player in the program, as well as Max Murchison whose highlights include a T7 at the Alberta Junior Boys Championship and 23rd at the CNFL Western Championship.
Returning to Team Alberta on the girl’s side is Sharmaine Rapisura, who boasts a win at the 2015 McLennan Ross Tour Championship most recently. Several girls from the 2015 Development Team have been promoted to Team Alberta in 2016 to join Rapisura. Kehler Koss, who finished runner up at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship, will be playing on the girl’s team. Annabelle Ackroyd and Jaden Baustad also join the team, with season highlights that include placing top ten in the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship.
New junior girls to Alberta Golf’s high performance programs include Claire Emery, who finished 7th at the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship, Lauren Koenig, who represented Alberta at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games, Cassidy Laidlaw, who finished 15th at the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship and Sydney Weber, who had a 15th place finish at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship.
For more information on the players, visit https://albertagolf.org/youth-development/teamalberta/.
Alberta Golf’s three provincial coaches will continue to lead the way in helping players reach their goals over the course of 2016 and beyond. Each player has the opportunity to spend time with their respective coach planning and working on goals for the upcoming season, as well as the post-secondary transition. Randy Robb will provide guidance and experience to the Team Alberta Boys Team, Luke Workman will coach the Team Alberta Girls Team and John Deneer will coach the Boys Development Team.
“As we prepare for the first competitive events of the 2016 golf season, members of Team Alberta are working hard to improve their fitness levels and strengthen their fundamentals to help get off to a good start,” Randy Robb says. “I’m excited to help these young athletes reach their goals and prepare for college golf”.
“I am fortunate to be working with a group talented and hardworking young women on the Team Alberta Girls program. The players on the team all had a successful 2015 season, and they have been training hard over the winter months to surpass these results in 2016. With many new players joining Team Alberta for the 2016 season, the enthusiasm at our camps thus far has been outstanding.” Luke Workman explains. “I am looking forward to spring – and green grass – to see these players represent Alberta over the course of the summer”.
For more information on our provincial coaches, visit https://albertagolf.org/meet-the-coaches/
About the program
The Team Alberta Training Program is focused on further developing the best golfers in the province to be competitive on a national stage. Selection for Team Alberta takes place in November of each year and is based on objective performance results (Order of Merit, Golf Canada and Alberta Golf), behavior and etiquette, which are further reviewed by the Alberta Golf Player Development Selection Committee. The teams are comprised of players who are not yet attending a post-secondary institution with a recognized golf program. At the end of 2015, one former Team Alberta player made the Team Canada Development Squad and one made the Golf Canada National Team.
About Team Alberta
The Team Alberta high performance program is focused at further developing the best golfers in the province to be competitive on the national stage. Program highlights include coaching by PGA of Canada certified golf coaches, training camps, monthly competitive matches, fitness testing, mental skills coaching and monitoring, access to shot by shot game analysis and much more. The goal of the Team Alberta program is to enhance and support the top players in the province. For more information on Team Alberta, visit https://albertagolf.org/youth-development/teamalberta/
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She Swings She Scores Program Launch
Alberta Golf (Calgary) – Alberta Golf is excited to announce the launch of She Swings She Scores, a program designed to introduce girls aged 6-12 to the sport of golf. She Swings She Scores focuses on girls currently participating in hockey by encouraging them to switch their hockey sticks for golf clubs at local hockey tournaments and community events. The goal of the program is to bring golf directly to girls and provide opportunities for players and teammates to learn the sport together in a fun, safe and developmental environment.
“Our goal over the next four years is to spark an interest in girls to try golf, bringing more of this key demographic into a game for life,” explains Matt Rollins, Executive Director/CEO at Alberta Golf.
Alberta Golf will set up an onsite hitting station and kiosk at hockey tournaments, where girls can try using golf clubs, enter in contests and get free swag. In addition to introducing the girls to golf, the program will educate parents and coaches about the Learn to Golf Field Trip Program.
“This initiative is a model for collaboration and partnership across provincial sport organizations in support of underrepresented and marginalized group’s participation in sport opportunities,” says Aaron Lavorato, Sport Consultant at Alberta Sport Connection. Support for the sport program is provided by Sport Canada and Alberta Sport Connection.
The first She Swings She Scores event will take place at The Olds Sport Complex in Olds on January 15th, 2016. For more information, visit our website or contact angela@albertagolf.org
Seen above is the inflatable hitting room that will travel to girls hockey tournaments across Alberta.
Learn to Golf Field Trip Program
The Learn to Golf Field Trip Program will be hosted at various Alberta Golf member golf courses, featuring four instructional sessions (equipment provided) with a PGA of Alberta Professional. Each session will involve an hour of introductory basics to golf, as well as lunch, snacks, golf swag and transportation to and from the golf course. The purpose of the field trips is to instill a positive golf experience for girls and a greater awareness of the next steps to become involved in the sport of golf.
The PGA of Canada will also be introducing a Community Golf Coach training workshop that is designed for individuals who work with children and youth to introduce the basic skills of golf. The training workshop will help prepare individuals to run the She Swings She Score and Learn to Golf Field Trips.