Three rugby players from Manitoba were chosen to attend Canada’s women’s U18 West camp in Shawnigan Lake, B.C., last month.

Faith Burtnyck of Rapid City joined Dauphin’s Emma Fox, who is currently attending the University of Oklahoma, and Bree Walker of Ste. Rose at the camp, Aug. 14 to 20, with 40 players in total showing off their skills.

Walker, who is attending her Grade 12 year in Dauphin, was excited when she was selected to the camp.

“Because, obviously, it was an amazing opportunity. And I was also (surprised). I’ve only been playing rugby for one year. How does this just happen to somebody after so little a time?” she said. “So I was nervous. I was a year younger than everyone else, so everyone else was going to be older. They’ve been playing their whole lives and they’re going to be insane. It was my first year playing and I know I’ve improved a lot, but I was definitely nervous.”

Other than the trip to Ireland with the Parkland Pirates rugby program, the trip west was a new adventure for Walker.

“I’ve never been to B.C. in the summer,” she said. “B.C. was so pretty. It was a really great experience.”

The camp itself was intense, Walker said, adding the level of rugby was something she had never seen or played before.

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