The overall experience shines even brighter than the eighth place finish for Team Canada and field hockey player Maddie Secco.
“I had an incredible time at the Commonwealth Games and it was an experience that I will never forget,” said the 20-year-old Oak Bay High grad.
“Our team went in to the tournament ranked eighth and we ended up in eighth spot, so we kind of finished where expected.”
In the preliminary round, Canada’s women lost to India 4-2 and South Africa 2-0 before defeating Trinidad and Tobego 4-1 on day three of competition.
They fell 6-0 to New Zealand and tied 2-2 with Malaysia.
“Although we didn’t upset any other nations, our team played some amazing hockey and based on our performance, I definitely think we could have attained better results,” Secco said.
Off the field, the experience was “outstanding” and made her proud to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland July 23 to Aug. 3.
“Walking into the Opening Ceremonies in front of thousands of fans is quite the feeling,” she said. “It was also cool to live in the village, make new friendships and try to support other athletes.”
The team was among those cheering on the Mens Rugby 7’s Canadian Team in its close game against the home country, Scotland.
With the Commonwealth Games complete, Secco says she misses the daily routine with teammates, but is enjoying the time before starting to train for their next big event, the Pan-American Games.
“Our team is very young and quite inexperienced, so the future looks bright.”