— Submitted photo
Ashley Bromley had to pick one or another so she did. It all came down to her desire to represent her province at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Bromley is a female multi-sport athlete who has represented Newfoundland and Labrador teams in both volleyball and hockey on a number of occasions in the past.
This year, she faced the challenge of having to decide which sport she would commit to for the balance.
Having a chance to play hockey in Prince George, B. C. with the top female hockey players from across the country was reason enough for her to not pursue a berth on the provincial volleyball team this year.
She earned a spot on the Newfoundland and Labrador U18 female hockey team back in August and will be patrolling the blueline this weekend for her province at the 2014 Atlantic Challenge Cup in Moncton, N.B., with every province sending its best players into the showcase of budding hockey talent in Atlantic Canada.
Back in May of this year, she made the decision to not attend the training camp for the provincial volleyball team. The decision to put her volleyball exploits on hold was made easier by the fact she had knee surgery scheduled for the week after the tryouts.
“It was Canada Games year so it was a really, really big deal to me so I picked hockey,” Bromley, a Level 3 student at Corner Brook Regional High, said from Moncton Wednesday morning.
The Atlantic Challenge Cup, in its 19th year, is billed as Atlantic Canada’s high performance hockey championship. The tournament brings together the top players in the region with champions crowned in male U14 and U15, while on the female side there is action in both U18 and U15.
Her knee is fine and she’s ready to help her province earn a medal in what will be her third appearance at an Atlantic Challenge Cup tournament.
Being immersed in a big hockey tournament with dozens of teams in a Red Ball Internet Centre that features four rinks was a great experience for her every time she donned the provincial colours in Moncton for the annual showcase of talent.
She loved playing against talented players at a fast pace, something she wishes was available in Newfoundland and Labrador, where geography prevents players from getting the same number of games as their mainland counterparts. She also enjoys the social aspect of playing in big sporting events because she meets new girls and forms lifelong friendships.
“It was just a different level of hockey,” she said of the hockey expected to be played at this tournament.
Bromley likes the nice mix of players assembled for the journey. She believes the team has a number of older girls who will lead the charge, but there’s also a bunch of youngsters in the mix who want to make a statement, so she’s excited about the team’s chances to achieve success in Moncton.
“I know they all want to win just as bad as we do,” she said of the newcomers champing at the bit to get the tournament underway.
Bromley, a five-foot-10, 140-pound defender, is happy to be sharing the limelight with a number of players she has shared a locker room with over the years. Those familiar faces joining her this weekend include Heather Richards of St. Anthony, Kaylee Gerrow of Rocky Harbour, Brooke Noseworthy of St. Anthony, Emily Parsons of Port aux Basques and Emily Edison of Springdale.
Andrew Burden of Corner Brook, who now lives in Nova Scotia, Adrian Ward of St. Anthony and Kyle Robinson — son of Western Royals veteran Mark Robinson — will be in action for the provincial U15 male team that has former Deer Lake Red Wings defenceman Mike Lee as an assistant coach.
Jolena Gillard of Deer Lake, Jessica Gould of Sandy Cove, Julie Pink of Burgeo and Rebecca Reid of Stephenville are members of the provincial female U15 team competing for gold in Moncton.
