A Northam teenager has helped Australia secure its place in the 2019 Womens World Floorball Championships.
Mackenzie Sargeant, 15, spent two weeks in Singapore and Bangkok training and competing in the qualifiers at the end of January.
The women’s side convincingly took out the event, winning all four games, even qualifying for the championships before the grand final took place.
Sargeant said going into the tournament she wasn’t sure how much game time she would get, but was surprised by the outcome.
“I surprised myself,” she said.
“I was pretty happy with the amount of game time I got, especially in the grand final.
“In some of the other games I didn’t get as much time, but they made sure we all got a turn.”
The Northam Senior High School student said she was pleaded with her performance, that improved as the games went on.
“I wasn’t happy with the first game because I was nervous that whole day,” she said.
“Whenever I’m nervous I don’t play my best.
“In the second game I didn’t have any nerves.”
Australia won first first game on January 28 against Thailand 8-2, their second against the Philippines 10-0, where they proceeded onto the semi-final against New Zealand and won 7-0.
Sargeant, who was one of the youngest players in the qualifiers, said a highlight of the experience was getting to know her teammates better.
“We got along really well,” she said.
“The girls were saying it was one of the best women's teams they’ve had.
“It just felt like family.”
Her mother Stacey, who traveled to Bangkok to watch her youngest child compete, said the final against Japan could have gone either way, with the match resulting in overtime where Australia won 5-4.
“To see you girls out there, it was really nail biting,” Stacey said.
“Japan had a lot of shots on goals but we have a really great goal keeper in Leith Woods who stopped a lot of the balls.
“Just to see their faces afterwards with the Australian flag draped over them was great.”
The next step for Sargeant is to maintain her fitness and avoid injury as she looks to tryout for the women’s championship that will head to Switzerland in December.
