Island players Olivia Boulding and Emoni Bush don鈥檛 have too far to look for recent inspiration as they pursue their Olympic dreams in volleyball. Fred Winters, who captained sa国际传媒, and Jamie Broder in women鈥檚 beach both came out of Claremont Secondary to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics and Martin Reader out of Highland Secondary in Comox en route to the 2012 London Olympics.
Spiking, setting and digging has begun again, at least on a training level, amid the pandemic. Volleyball sa国际传媒, looking ahead to the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, has named Boulding and Bush among 16 of the best young female players in sa国际传媒 who are attending its National Excellence Program centralized camp. It opened this month and runs through December at the Olympic Oval in Richmond.
Boulding, of Victoria, and Bush from Campbell River, are both talented outside hitters. Boulding attends Claremont Secondary and also the Canadian Sports School located at PISE on the Camosun College Interurban campus. Boulding led the Claremont Spartans to a top-five finish in the 2019 sa国际传媒 4A high school championships and was named to the second all-star team, despite then only being in Grade 10. Bush, a member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, is a recipient of the 2019 Premier鈥檚 Awards for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport, and led sa国际传媒 with the most scoring spikes at the 2019 FIVB Under-18 world championships in Cairo, Egypt. The six-foot-three hitter uncoils to attack the net with lethal precision. Although in Grade 11, Bush is already sorting through interest from several U.S. university NCAA Div. 1 schools in the Pac-12 conference. Bush, who attended Phoenix Middle School, was only in Grade 10 when she was named first-team all-star in taking the Carihi Secondary Tyees to the final of the 2018 sa国际传媒 high school 3A championships before helping carry the Tyees to a second consecutive silver medal at the provincials in 2019.
The other sa国际传媒 players selected are setter Lucy Borowski of Vancouver, middle-hitter Mackenzie Pool of Burnaby and libro Chloe Ladd of Lake Country in the Okanagan.
The centralized program will provide full-time daily training for players who are in Grades 11-12 and will include academic support along with the physical and volleyball training.
鈥淭he level of talent across sa国际传媒 at the identification camps [which were conducted before the pandemic] was quite high and these 16 athletes who make up the first intake are exceptional athletes,鈥� said training centre head coach Shannon Winzer, in a statement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting time to be coaching with Team sa国际传媒 and also for anyone involved with women鈥檚 volleyball in sa国际传媒 as we work towards a future Olympic qualification.鈥�
sa国际传媒 has not qualified for the Olympics in women鈥檚 indoor volleyball since Atlanta in 1996. The next generation, gathered in Richmond, is being tasked to end that drought.
鈥淭he national excellence program is a partnership with our provincial and territorial volleyball associations that are deeply committed to support the women鈥檚 national team towards Olympic and world championship success,鈥� said Dawna Sales, Volleyball sa国际传媒 athlete and coach pathway director.
鈥淭he ability to create a culture of excellence with our next generation of national team athletes is a privilege we don鈥檛 take lightly, and know the women鈥檚 national team will benefit from this program.鈥�
