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17 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,M arch 21,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca April 7-13 Contact your advertising representative at 519-623-7395 for rates and information showyoursupport Uprooting their lives and relocating to Europe hasn't been an easy task for the Ca- nadian women's field hockey squad, but it's a necessary one as they hope to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 1992. Whether it be crashing on a teammate's couch or mat- tress for multiple days or commuting hours for prac- tices, the team is committed to giving their best shot at making the trip to Tokyo in 2020. Since 2018, the team has moved its training to just out- side of Antwerp, Belgium af- ter government funding from the Own the Podium program was cut in 2017. Funding wasn't cut from the Canadian men's field hockey program. The men have qualified for the Sum- mer Olympics seven times, including in 2000, 2008 and 2016. Brienne Stairs, an eight- year member of the national team and a Kitchener native, says new coach Giles Bonnet felt this is the best way of "centralizing" the team. She says the team was upset to lose the funding from Own the Podium while adding just afew years ago, they received $750,000 from the program. Stairs explained that there are financial benefits of stationing in Belgium. Club teams pay for flights and ac- commodations, making the burden easier for the players. The move also allows players to play for high-level clubs in Belgium and Holland, which they weren't able to do in Vancouver, where they were stationed before. The team practises Mon- day to Wednesday near Ant- werp while the players play for their club teams over the weekend. In terms of the squad's next steps in making it 2020, the team must finish top-two in a World Series tourna- ment in Valencia, Spain that runs from June 19-27. The to- tal cost of competing in the tournament will be $75,000; $40,000 for travel, and $35,000 for food and accommodation. The team has started a crowd funding campaign to help them compete in the tournament, and as of March 11, have raised $32,000 in 10 days, which Stairs calls an "incredible" feat. While the team is current- ly ranked 21st in the world, Stairs doesn't believe it does the team justice. She says they have played very well, have beaten top teams lately, and have a great shot of breaking the Olympic drought. Stairs, who has 153 senior caps for the Canadian team, is currently living with fel- low Kitchener-Waterloo na- tive Amanda Woodcroft, as both are playing for Konin- klijke Hockey Club in Leu- ven. Stairs and Woodcroft have lived in Europe for a few years, so the change wasn't as drastic for them and they say it's been an enjoyable experi- ence. However, some of the players have had a tougher adjustment, leaving signifi- cant others at home in Cana- da as well as their families. "I think everyone has the same goal in mind, so it's to- tally worth it to come over here for the experience, and the high-level games," Stairs said in a phone call from Bel- gium with the Waterloo Chronicle. Woodcroft, 25, says the im- pact a qualification for the Olympics could have is mon- umental for younger girls, es- pecially in Kitchener-Water- loo. "I know there's a lot of girls in Kitchener-Waterloo that play field hockey, even for Ontario when you look at national championships, the Ontario West group is always doing pretty well compared to other groups, and that's mainly Kitchener-Waterloo girls," said the five-year member of Team Canada. Woodcroft, who starred for the field hockey team at Sir John A. Macdonald, says field hockey could take a sim- ilar trajectory as rugby sev- ens, which she says has risen in popularity since the 2016 Olympic Games. The Cana- dian women finished with a bronze at the Rio Olympics. Woodcroft's younger sis- ter, Nikki, came over to Eu- rope in August to join her Ca- nadian national teammates, and is playing in Holland for Leiden Hockey Club. Nikki, 23, says the move to Europe was a bit of a shock, especially after she relocated to Vancouver in 2016 to join the national team. For Nikki, it is a approxi- mately a two-hour commute- for team practices. She is one of the players who crashes on a teammate's couch for mul- tiple days as the team bands together to make their dream come true. "The funding is huge; over the past few years, we've been a self-funded team for many events, so funding would re- ally help us be in the best pos- sible training chance leading into the qualification in the Olympic year," said the for- mer SJAM field hockey standout. While the team's funding cut made "everyone super upset," the team is working very hard to make that dream come true. "Qualifying would be tru- ly amazing," said Nikki. "I think we have the best chance we've had to qualify over the last few years, we've really put in a lot of effort this year. I think we've grown so much as a team, and truly have our best opportunity this summer to qualify." For Stairs, a former su- perstar for the Forest Heights Trojans and Univer- sity of Guelph Gryphons, it will be her third and final chance to achieve a lifelong dream. "It would mean absolutely everything," Stairs is planning to retire from the national team fol- lowing this go-around and hopes to pursue a second ca- reer in medicine afterwards. People who are interested in contributing to the Cana- dian Women's Field Hockey team can visit https://ma- keachamp.com/canwolf- pack. CANADIAN WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY TEAM LAUNCHES CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN, LOOKS TO QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS NAMISH MODI nmodi@waterloo chronicle.ca COMMUNITY