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A young Saskatchewan rugby player is making it big internationally.
Elle Douglas is a 17-year-old rugby player from Saskatoon who will be competing for Team Canada in the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
“It’s been something that I’ve been working towards for the last two or three years,” said Douglas. “It’s really nice to have gotten there and seeing my results.”
Douglas has been playing the sport since she was six years old. It’s now her 11th year in rugby.
Douglas said it was her father’s time in the sport that made her begin loving it. Her father played in his 20s in the United States, and settled in Saskatoon afterwards to begin playing with the Gophers Rugby Club.
“That’s where I was brought up was the rugby club,” said Douglas.
After having been immersed in the sport for nine years, Douglas moved to Vancouver, B.C. two years ago to play rugby full-time with the MacDowell Rugby Academy.
Douglas said she played and watched rugby every day there on top of taking classes.
“There’s another layer of competitiveness that you don’t necessarily get here in Saskatchewan,” said Douglas. ”But Saskatchewan is such a great place to start playing rugby because everyone’s at the same level.”
In the fall, Douglas will be starting school at the University of Victoria, where she’ll play for the Vikes rugby team. The school is situated near Langford, B.C. where Rugby Canada trains for the Olympics.
The Commonwealth Games are only one step removed from the Olympics. Douglas is competing at the youth level of the Games, but said she’s still excited to be a part of an event with such a close connection to the Olympics.
“Getting my foot in the door with Rugby Canada is where I’m starting with, but my goal is to go to the Olympics and play for Canada,” said Douglas.
Douglas said in university she will be playing rugby again with some of her friends from Saskatchewan. But for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Douglas will be the only player going from Saskatchewan.
Although her international rugby career is advancing quite quickly, Douglas hasn’t lost touch with her Saskatchewan roots.
“I think it’s important that the prairies get some representation,” said Douglas. “I know we don’t usually get a lot, and we’ve got a lot of good athletes out here so I’m proud and I just want to make people back home proud.”
The Commonwealth Youth Games run from Friday to Aug. 11.