Two softball players from the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District have made Team BC and are headed to the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax next month.
Brooke Wharf, a pitcher who attends Garibaldi Secondary, and Lilly Beedle, a catcher who attends Pitt Meadows Secondary, will join 7,000 other athletes in 16 different sports when the event gets underway in Nova Scotia on July 15.
The duo is hoping their long history of playing together in the Ridge Meadows Minor Softball program will give them an advantage when they take the field.
“It will definitely be nice to have a familiar face there,” Beedle said, noting she has been behind the plate on many occasions when Wharf has been on the mound. “I feel like we have developed almost as a pair because she has done so much development and I have been there for a lot of it.”
Both players said they are ready to get out on the field when the games begin.
“I checked [the roster] and I was super excited,” Wharf said. “I was like ‘oh my gosh, this doesn’t feel real’… It’s just an amazing opportunity.”
Heather Holland, who heads SD42’s Softball Academy at Garibaldi Secondary, said the players will get the opportunity to compete at a high level.
Holland was unaware of the North American Indigenous Games until Wharf, one of her players, was chosen for Team BC. However, now that the school knows about the event, she said they will be encouraging other athletes to look into competing.
“I think it is super exciting,” Holland said. “Now that we are aware of this, it is something we can bring forward to other Indigenous players that are part of our Softball Academy.”