I’ve been putting off writing an update regarding the tournament and I figure I might as well do it now, since I’ve had time to think and decompress.
Being a mid-30s amateur female athlete is difficult. I have no kids so I have the freedom to continue my hobbies, however I do have a full-time job and there’s a limit on how much time and money I can commit to them. I play sports because I love them, and I love the exercise. I don’t have the same resources that many other amateur women have, but that doesn’t deter me from competing; it just means I have to sacrifice a little more in my own way. In the case of floorball, I was given the chance to travel to Sweden to play and prepare for the tournament; something I know most people wouldn’t have ever been given the chance to do. Still, it was not enough to truly compete at the international level.
The tournament started off with a game against Australia and we had a close loss, which stung but didn’t deter us. Going into the next two games, we had everything to lose. Sadly, the results did not end well for us. We still got a small chance to take things back in the first placement game vs Estonia, but once again, we fell short. It was a bit surreal to mirror the 2017 game with Estonia, where they tied the game in the last few seconds of regulation and won in OT. It was a heartbreak of a game after having such a hard start to our pool games.
As it stands, the tournament didn’t end the way any of us wanted. It was frustrating for all of us. Many tears were shed in the moment and all I can still focus on today is what I did wrong. I was so hopeful going into it that we had improved since 2017 and would place even better than 12th. I didn’t think there was any way we’d end up 16th, but here we are.
Regardless of these facts, I am still so happy I went to Europe. I got to spend time training with a Swedish club, I got to travel to four different countries, and I got to play international floorball. The opportunity I had was absolutely fabulous, and I am so thankful I was able to make it happen.
My little hiatus from life was fun, and now I’m back to reality.
