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Pickleball League formed for summer play

   The game of pickleball has been growing exponentially across the globe and right here in the valley. At the same time, the skill level is going up and now a casual league has formed to get more time on the court and to hone their skills.
   Gabriel Chicoine, who has a background in tennis has formed a Drumheller Pickleball League, which allows for beginners as well as more competitive players. They play at the DVSS Courts.
   “My goal is to help grow the sport and have more people playing,” he tells the Mail.
    There is league play on Friday and Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. He is keeping the league casual. Players can come once or for all the sessions, he just asks that they preregister.
   There is a beginner category to make it inclusive for those just learning the game. Additionally, those starting out can attend a short clinic at 12:30 p.m. on league days to learn the basic skills. Paul Rosgen has been helping out with the clinic sessions.
   Chicoine tells the Mail they have secured sponsorship from Tim Hortons and are looking for others who may wish to come forward with prizes. He has also secured medals and trophies.
   The League just completed Week two of competition and will continue until August 25.
   To sign up for weekly play contact Chicoine at gabrielchicoine@hotmail.com

Minor hockey player vegas-bound for tournament

A young Drumheller hockey player is Vegas-bound for tournament play this summer.
Emmett Gouy, 8, son of Shane and Katrina, played his regular season with U9 Sunrise Auto Raptors and has played spring hockey with the Junior Dragons program. He is a member of the AAA 2015 Spartans, the only Alberta team to compete in the BioSteel Series Kings of Vegas tournament July 9-12.
“We’re pretty excited, we are going to make a family vacation out of it, and he is excited to play,” said Katrina.
Katrina tells the Mail, that last season, they learned about a tryout for the Spartans in Calgary and took a chance. After two tryouts, they liked what they saw in the left winger.
“We didn’t really think much of it, we were in between games at a tournament in Canmore and went to the tryout,” said Katrina.”He brought the intensity and skated the way they needed.”
She adds this level of play at the AAA level is different from the minor hockey he has been playing, but he matches the level of play.
“He’s pretty aggressive,… they like how he plays. He is physical, he scores, he moves, it’s a good opportunity.”
The team comprised of players from Calgary, Lethbridge, Airdrie and Edmonton. They will be competing with teams from throughout the US and Canada.
Emmet is planning on playing in the superleague team in Calgary with Spartan Academy.

U16 Smash volleyball team wins national silver

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The U16 Smash girl’s volleyball team shined at nationals, taking home a silver medal.
The Smash is the sole Drumheller Club Volleyball team that went to nationals this season. They were played out in Edmonton on May 24-26. The Smash played well, making it to the gold medal match in Division Two, Tier 12.
“They played awesome,” said Coach Audrey DeBona. “They practiced hard all year to get that point.”
“When they get going playing as a team they are so cohesive, they behave on the court as one unit.”
Coach DeBona explains the first day of the tournament, your team is put in a pool. On the second day, you are put in a power pool to determine the tiering. On Sunday, it is almost sudden death, where you continue to play until you are defeated.
They played teams from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and a couple of BC teams. All of the matches were close, with a couple of points either way.
On Sunday, they topped two BC teams to go on to the final against Victoria. It came down to the last game.
“We were down a lot in the third game, and they made a huge comeback but lost 15-12,” said DeBona. “They were just on fire and got going, it was just a little too late.”
This isn’t the first time this team has competed at the national level.
“There was only one out of the 10, who had not been to nationals, some have been to the big show three times,” said DeBona, noting they won gold three years ago in Division Two.