CALGARY, Alta. – Six candidates for Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team will travel to Vierumäki, Finland, this month to participate in the 2012 IIHF High Performance Camp, taking place in conjunction with the 2012 IIHF Hockey Development Camp, which together will feature 250 female participants from more than 30 countries.

The two IIHF female camps take place July 15-22 at Vierumäki Sports Institute, as part of the second phase of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s “To Sochi and Beyond,” a strategic development plan to improve women’s hockey worldwide. The high performance camp is for players from the top women’s hockey nations, while the development camp is for any eligible IIHF member nations wishing to participate, although both will “use the expertise and experience present at both camps to create valuable crossover opportunities.”

The high performance camp invitees from across the country all attended Canada’s National Women’s Program strength and conditioning camp this May in Toronto, Ont., and include:

• one player from Alberta: Karly Heffernan (Edmonton, Alta./Edge School, JWHL);
• one player from British Columbia: Samantha Fieseler (West Kelowna, B.C./Warner School, JWHL);
• one player from Québec: Ève-Audrey Picard (Longueuil, Que./Richelieu, Midget AA);
• three players from Ontario: Rebecca Leslie (Ottawa, Ont./Ottawa, LLFHL), Hailey Noronha (Newmarket, Ont./Aurora, PWHL) and Lauren Wildfang (Waterdown, Ont./Toronto, PWHL).

Hockey Canada is also sending five staff members to the camps, with Amber Lesage (Garden River, Ont./Hockey Canada), Amy Montgomery (Calgary, Alta./Hockey Canada) and Brittany Simpson (Thunder Bay, Ont./Carleton University, CIS) attending the IIHF High Performance Camp, while Shelley Coolidge (Lashburn, Sask./Carleton University, CIS) and Trina Radcliffe (Oyen, Alta./Hockey Canada) will attend the IIHF Hockey Development Camp.

“Hockey Canada is happy to send players, coaches and staff members to the two camps taking place in Finland this summer,” said Kalli Quinn, director of female national teams for Hockey Canada. “These great IIHF initiatives will give everyone involved the chance to learn, teach, share and help grow the female game globally.”

In addition, 19 other Canadians will lend their skills to the two camps, including National Women’s Team captain and IIHF athlete ambassador coordinator Hayley Wickenheiser (Shaunavon, Sask./University of Calgary, CIS), National Women’s Team assistant coach and IIHF on-ice instructor Danielle Goyette (St-Nazaire, Que./University of Calgary, CIS), as well as Hockey Canada’s head scout of women’s national teams and IIHF mentor coach coordinator Melody Davidson (Oyen, Alta./Hockey Canada), among many others.

The 2012 IIHF High Performance Camp will split players from the top 14 countries into six teams that will play three games each, and will also include fitness testing, dryland training, on-ice practices, educational seminars and hot stove sessions.

The two camps are part of several global development projects taking place as part of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s commitment to narrowing the women’s hockey gap between North America and the rest of the world leading up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

For more information on Canada’s National Women’s Program and Hockey Canada, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/NWT, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/HockeyCanada, www.Twitter.com/HockeyCanada and www.Twitter.com/HC_TeamCanada.