Take a chance

Times Contributor  

 

Kailee Dundas, who grew up in Hussar, is small town girl that loves ringette. She began playing at the age of five and continued playing for her home town of Hussar until she left for university. She has been trying out for Team Canada since she was 16. The first time she made the team was in 2004 in Montreal.

In 2010 Dundas was one of the 22 women selected to play on the Canadian Senior National Team in the World Ringette Championship that was held in Finland at the time her daughter was six-weeks old.

Her schedule was intense: between on ice training with world-class athletes and nursing a newborn, this busy mom remembers it being the hardest yet most rewarding thing she has every had to do. Her fondest memory of her 2010 time on the squad was being able to wear a maple leaf on her jersey in front of her daughter. It is something that Dundas and her family will never forget. 

Recently Dundas was one of the 57 women invited to try out for Team Canada 2013. The tryouts were held in Ottawa and the competition was fierce. Team Canada coaches had spent a lot of time scouting before tryouts and had the best of the best assembled for the National Tryouts on Feb. 14-18. Dundas is currently a defensive player for Edmonton WAM in the national league. She unfortunately did not make final cuts but was very happy for the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meeting new ones. 

“This level of ringette is really fun, because everyone is very skilled. You can do things as a team that are at a higher level than on a club team,” explains Dundas. For now Dundas plans on turning her attention towards the next generation of ringette players. Having young children herself, she would like to pass on her motivation and knowledge to help the younger players reach their full potential. Her advice to new players, as well as experienced ones, is to make sure it is fun. “It’s fun to be good. It’s even better to know you gave it your all and came up short than to not have tried at all.  Be a better skater, and think about the game,” said Dundas.