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Play ball in Montréal

Athabasca’s Avery Kamelchuk played in U17 Girls Canadian Fast Pitch Championship Aug. 17-2

ATHABASCA – One of Athabasca’s own was on the national stage last week, taking part in the 2022 U17 Girls Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Montréal with some of the best in the country. 

Between August 17-21, local athlete, 17-year-old Avery Kamelchuk took to the diamond as part of the Sherwood Park Storm. 

“It's nationals, so we're up against some of the top teams in Canada in our U17 age group right now,” Kamelchuk said in between games via phone from Montréal Aug. 18. 

“Right now, we have a 1-2 record, we have won one game and lost two. We play one more game tonight and we have a game tomorrow in the round robin and that'll have us seated for our ranking. They've been pretty good games and the few that we've lost, we probably could have won,” Kamelchuk explained at that early point in the tournament. 

Kamelchuk and the Storm finished the tournament with an overall record of 2-4. She went 5-12 at the plate in six games; hit four singles and a triple for a .455 average; scored a run, knocked in two others; and had a slugging percentage of .636. She was also named Player of the Game in the Storm’s final match against the other Alberta team from Calgary. 

Kamelchuk’s team placed second at the Alberta provincials earlier this summer, after making it to finals undefeated — allowing the Storm to compete at the national level, which was the team’s goal from the start.  

“[Finding out we would be going] was great, honestly. We already knew the destination was Montréal, we were just so excited to get to travel again and get to play more against some of these awesome teams. It was pure excitement,” she said.  

While the destination brought tons of excitement, it was not Kamelchuk’s first time traveling for softball. 

“A couple of seasons ago we played in Las Vegas in a tournament, we played a couple of tournaments in BC and Saskatchewan, and then just all around Alberta,” Kamelchuk said.  

In this season alone, the team has travelled to Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and Kelowna in the lead up to the Montréal trip. 

With all of the success Kamelchuk has had in softball, she has hopes of pursuing it further after high school.  

“I'm planning to go down to the States next year to play softball. I’m not sure where but I'm hoping that my softball career will get me a scholarship so I can pursue a degree in nursing. Because softball is not too big up here with lots of schools, there's more chances down in the States. I'm hoping to play again.” 

Kamelchuk has been playing softball for her whole life, starting with t-ball as a toddler and playing competitively since the age of eight.  

After so many years of playing, Kamelchuk finds the best part of the game is being a part of a team. 

“We're such a great group of girls and we all have the same goal, which was to make it to nationals, which we totally did. We all just have the same mindset and it's really nice to be on a team that has that same mindset, same goal, and everybody's working towards it. Our coaching staff is amazing. They're so professional. They just want the best for us, and that's what they've been giving.”

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