A Pelly woman and a Norquay woman had their eyes on China last week when their great-grandson, as a member of Team Canada, was competing in the 2016 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) U19 World Championship.
Riley Pickett of Saskatoon, the great-grandson of both June How of Norquay and Ann Vogel of Pelly, is one of six Saskatchewan athletes on the 38-person Team Canada. He and Adam Machart play with the Saskatoon Hilltops of the Canadian Junior Football League. The other four Saskatchewan members are from Saskatoon and Melfort.
Pickett, 19, is a six-foot, four-inch defensive lineman who attends Centennial School in Saskatoon. His parents are Andrea Vogel and Jeff Pickett, both of Saskatoon, and his maternal grandmother is Wendy Vogel (widow of the late Lorne Vogel) of Saskatoon.
Team Canada won one game against Mexico and lost one to the USA, How said last week, adding that members of his immediate family have also gone to China to watch him compete.
“Canada’s entry has retained a core group of players from its U18 and U19 national teams which competed against Team USA at the International Bowl series in Arlington, Texas,” says the Team Canada website.
“As a coaching staff, we’ve used the International Bowl series against the U.S. national teams as an opportunity to prepare, evaluate and select the top identified players to go on and represent our nation on the world stage,” said Warren Craney, Canada’s defensive co-ordinator and head coach. “After a long travel day, we will use our training camp in China to adjust to the 12-hour time difference and come together in pursuit of a gold medal.”
After roughly a full day in the air, Team Canada was to arrive in China on June 22 and begin training camp in preparation for their opening game against Mexico on June 30. They were then to play on July 3, July 7 and July 9 or 10, depending on game results of the championship’s double-elimination play.
“This tournament and its competition keep improving each cycle and we look forward to representing our great football nation in China,” Craney said.
