A young girl with roots in the valley has competed with the world in jump rope.
Brooklyn Hautzinger, 13, is the daughter of Dan and Bailey and granddaughter of Blair and Patty. She is a member of the Camrose Spirals. The jump rope club has been in operation for 30 years, and this year sent nine athletes to the International Jump Rope Union 2023 World Championships in Colorado Springs on Team Canada.
Brooklyn was one of six athletes competing in the 12-15 female division. The team competes in team events, including single rope speed, double Dutch speed, single rope freestyle and double Dutch freestyle.
“We have been working very hard for the past 11 months. I am so excited to have this opportunity of a lifetime to share with my team and coach. Whether we win or lose, we are so proud of ourselves for getting here,” said Brooklyn prior to the event.
The team qualified in a total of eight events to be eligible to vie for the all-around team.
The girls finished 11th in their double Dutch freestyle.

To get to this level the team has been training for 11 months practicing three nights a week.
To qualify for this competition, the athletes submitted videos of their events to be reviewed and adjudicated.
Jump Rope is an organized sport that combines elements of aerobics, synchronized dance, gymnastics and break dancing, all tied together with a jump rope. The Sprials compete provincially, nationally and internationally, and perform many demonstrations throughout the community.

“I have loved watching them come together and creating a strong, dedicated team who pushes and encourages each other, all while having amazing attitudes and a passion for the sport. They are an amazing team,” said head coach Jodi Bogstie.

The Drumheller U13 Pure Venom softball team played hard at an appearance at provincials and showed a strong competitive spirit.
The U13 Pure Venom was in Leduc for the tournament on the weekend of July 28. Despite having a young team with only three senior players, the team showed resilience and played strong the entire tournament. They had one victory over Delburne.
“We did well. We were in every game, it just happened to be that we came up a little bit short,” said assistant coach Ryan Bitz. “Every game was a good game. We were pretty happy with the effort the girls put in, and it was a good experience for them.”
He adds it was a learning curve for the coaches as well, seeing how serious other teams were at this elite level.
He says he appreciates the team’s competitive spirit. “They competed in every game, they give it all they got. In this sport in one inning, it can all turn around. They are not afraid to hit the ball,” said Bitz. “Their effort was always on par, and that is all a coach can ask for.”
He said the team had to qualify for the tournament and played well to make the cut, beating Okotoks in a three-game series.
“They (Okotoks) are a little bit of an older group, but the girls stuck with it and prevailed,” said Bitz. “They deserved to go, they did a lot of hard work this year to get there.”
With less than a handful of second-year players, who will be heading to the next level, the future looks bright for Pure Venom.
“The first-year group came a long way and a big part of that is head coach Bryce Pears. He sure got the girls in tune with what ball really is, and that helped a lot to get them where they are,” said Bitz.
He also says they had great support from the community, the association and the coaches.
Along with Pears and Bitz, Vanessa Jensen also was an assistant coach. They were also supported by Brooklynn Hartman. Last season she played at Dakota College at Bottineau for the Lady Jacks. She helped the team with their pitching.