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It isn鈥檛 lost on the 2016 Rio Olympics-bound Canadian women鈥檚 sevens rugby team that its worst tournament performance in more than two years came the only time it has played at home 鈥� the inaugural sa国际传媒 Sevens in April before capacity crowds at Westhills Stadium.
The Langford-based national side gets a do-over at home next month, this time at BMO Stadium in Toronto, with the roster announced Wednesday for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Being at home brings its own set of challenges, as the world No. 2 Canadian side found out in April on the Island.
鈥淲e learned a lot from what happened in Langford,鈥� said captain Jennifer Kish, who was injured for the sa国际传媒 Sevens, and saw it unfold from the Westhills stands.
鈥淚t was hard to watch. We were trying to do too much and not staying within our roles. Obviously, we fixed that. Lesson learned.鈥�
The latter comment referred to successful post-Langford World Series tournaments in London and Amsterdam through which sa国际传媒 qualified second overall for Rio 2016, where rugby sevens makes its Olympic debut. Since the Commonwealth Games haven鈥檛 featured women鈥檚 sevens 鈥� it makes its debut at Gold Coast 2018 鈥� the Pan Ams will be the first multi-sport Games appearance for women鈥檚 sevens.
鈥淲ith the other sports and athletes involved, and all the distractions that come with a Games, Toronto will help us prepare for what Rio is going to be like,鈥� Kish said.
The Canadian team will take with it to BMO Field the cautionary tale from Westhills Stadium. Let home field raise you, not crush you under the weight of expectation.
鈥淲e learned a lot from the sa国际传媒 Sevens in Langford 鈥� play as a team . . . no need to try and be the hero,鈥� said Kish, from Edmonton. 鈥淚t was a first for us and we learned some hard truths about playing at home.鈥�
Maybe enough for a golden outcome in Toronto.
鈥淥ur women鈥檚 rugby sevens team has enjoyed great success over the recent seasons and I am confident they can continue this trend in Toronto this summer,鈥� Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut said in a statement.
Named to the team for the Pan Am Games are Kish, Britt Benn, Hannah Darling, Bianca Farella, Magali Harvey, Sara Kaljuvee, Ghislaine Landry, Kayla Moleschi, Karen Paquin, Kelly Russell, Ashley Steacy and Natasha Watcham-Roy.
The national side will continue training at Westhills before departing for Toronto, but all eyes are on the big prize. 鈥淓verything we do is to peak for Rio next year,鈥� Kish said.
