The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Sports Oakville Beaver By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2007 21 A novice no longer Canadian women's gymnastic team counting on Brown's leadership for Olympic push H Olympic spots. There will be considerable turnover from last year's worlds team. Brown is aving world championship one of four returnees on the sevenexperience will help, but, con- member team, and one of the team's sidering what's on the line, most experienced and decorated gymthere will still be some tense moments nasts, having won a silver medal on for Alyssa Brown and the rest of the vault and a team bronze at last year's Commonwealth Games. In the space of Canadian women's gymnastics team. Brown and her teammates will head a couple of years, Brown has gone from to the world championships in the youngest member of the team to Stuttgart, Germany in September one of its veteran leaders. "There's a lot of looking to improve on change. There's a last year's 14th place fin- "There's a younger younger generation comish. That is particularly generation coming ing up. These girls are important because the up. I hope to pass very talented and they top 12 teams will earn a on some of my should help our team a place in the 2008 tremendous amount," Olympics in Beijing, knowledge to help calm them down." Brown said. "Every comChina. petition, you get better "It will be more stresswith nerves and competful because it is to qualify Alyssa Brown ing in front of huge for the Olympics," said the 18-year-old, who secured her place crowds. I hope to pass on some of my on the Canadian team by finishing knowledge to help calm them down." Among the newcomers is Canadian third at the national team selection meet at her home club in Mississauga champion Kristina Vaculik. Brown continued to show improvelast weekend. "It would be amazing (to qualify). I've been working toward the ment at the selection meet as she conOlympics since the beginning of my tinues to comeback from a Achilles heel injury that sidelined her for six months. gymnastics career." It is well within reach for the Scaling back her routines at nationals, Canadian team. In 2006, Canada was she finished sixth. At the selection meet, just 2.5 points behind 12th-place she reintroduced many of the skills she Japan. However, Brown is confident had removed from her routines, and it that the team has made strides toward showed as she won the vault. "I had no problems," she said. "I'm reaching the goal. Last month at an international competition in Brazil, getting back the last of the skills and Brown won a silver medal on bars as just fixing some little details." She'll continue that fine tuning Canada defeated Great Britain, which process as the team leaves for Greece in was 11th at last year's worlds. France, Korea, the Netherlands and August for a training camp and dual host Germany will be among the other meet before heading to Germany for teams Canada will battle for the the worlds Sept. 1-9. NIKKI WESLEY / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER OLYMPIC HOPEFUL: Alyssa Brown soars through the air during her uneven bars routine at last weekend's national gymnastics trials in Mississauga. Brown finished third overall at the competition, earning a spot with Team Canada for the world championships in Germany later this summer. Under-15 girls Blast competition in New York Looking for more competitive soccer than the Peel Halton Select League has provided this season, the Oakville Blast under-15 girls' select soccer team found it at the annual Gates Invitational Soccer Tournament in Rochester, New York. Still, the Blast was more than capable of handling the tougher opposition. Oakville, 9-0 in league play this year, went 3-0-1 at the tournament to win the five-team U15/U16 division. The Blast's three wins came in 1-0 fashion, against Enchanted Mountain, Marion and Gates Soccer Club. Oakville's tie came in its fourth game, 1-1 against the Hilton Heat, by which time the Blast had already clinched tournament gold. "The girls have never been involved in games in Canada where the refereeing has allowed the physical contact to go as far as it did in Rochester," said Blast head coach Warren Edgar. "I was very proud of the girls for rising to the challenge." -- U-16 Angels also win in N.Y. · See page 25 BLAST ON: The Oakville Blast under-15 girls' select team won the Gates tournament last weekend in New York.Team members are Katie Lowe, Ashley Sibley, Laurelita MacAldaz, Jessica Woodward, Alex Edgar, Chloe Cross, Courtney James, Frances Ratelle, Alida Carlin, Christina Lyn, Lindsay Annett, Kelsey Jackson, Hayleigh Cudmore, Leah MacStravick, Lauren Prolas, Marissa Trauzzi, Brittany Aldworth, Colleen Araujo and Ashley Finan. Also pictured are Marina Carlin (trainer), Syd Woodward (coach), Warren Edgar (coach) and Liann Ratelle (manager).