by Laurie McVicar
Contact Staff

   Three months after being named Air Command Team of the Year, the 8 Wing Ladies Broomball Team has captured a national title.

   At a ceremony held in Ottawa two weeks ago, Sgt Crystal Krammer (captain) and Sgt Lisa Rowe (assistant captain) accepted the prestigious Canadian Forces Team of the Year Award. The broomball team was one of five teams vying for the honour.

   “We were chosen because of our win record,” said Rowe. “We had 38 wins and two losses during the year.”

   “I think it was also based on the fact we went outside the Canadian Forces and finished well in the civilian nationals,” said Krammer.

   Both Rowe and Krammer were surprised by the win, considering the number of obstacles the team faced throughout its 2000/2001 season.

   “We were competing against teams like the Royal Military College swim team who compete in the collegiate category and internationally,” said Rowe. “It’s hard to compete against teams who have opportunities like that…We just have the Canadian Forces competitions and if you win that you go on to the civilian nationals. There you are playing against people who have been together for many, many years. We’re a mix of people that have come together from different bases. You’re lucky if you have a good player posted in.”

   The team also had to deal with many injuries throughout the year.

   “We started out with only nine players then two were hurt, taking us down to seven. You need five on the ice at one time,” said Krammer. “People dug down deep and got things done.”

   “We were all heart,” agreed Rowe.

   Team chemistry definitely played a big part in their successes, stated Krammer.

   “I don’t think you could ever hand pick another team that would be able to do what we did,” she said.

   Although many of the units and squadrons were supportive of the broomball players, Rowe admits there were a few occasions where players could not participate in competitions because of job commitments.

   ‘We lost one or two key players, which forced the others to play harder,” said Rowe.

   Although the team picked up three extra players, it still only brought them back to nine members. Teams are normally allowed to have up to 16 players.

   “We played a very smart broomball season. We pressed when we had to, but we conserved ourselves. In order to do that, you have to have a good set of broomball players. I think that’s what’s so amazing. We had so few players, the textbook style really came out,” said Krammer.

   “We had good leadership too,” said Rowe. “The captain (Krammer) kept the team together,” she said. Unfortunately, not long enough to reign over another broomball season.

   “For most of the players it took 10 years to win a gold medal,” said Rowe. “Many have retired and moved on to hockey.”

   At least they were able to end their broomball careers on a high note.

   “After many years of playing in the shadows of BFC Valcartier, our Flyers have proven that they are arguably the best CF Women’s Broomball Team ever,” said Fitness and Sports Director Manny Raspberry. “The Coach, MWO Don MacIntyre, had tremendous faith in his players and was extremely proud of them.”

   “I was very pleased for the team to win the award,” wrote MacIntyre via e-mail. “I believe we are very deserving for what we accomplished over the year. We were under manned all year and played through injuries and personnel not being available to participate in the different events throughout the year. I have been playing military sports my entire service career and this is an award I will cherish very much.

   I would like to thank the members of the team for their dedication and determination, which were the two major factors that brought us our success. I would also like to thank the supervisors for their support in allowing the players the time off to participate in the Wing Sports Program.”