It was a whirlwind August long weekend for Cochrane rugby player Taia Graham, who spent it competing for Alberta at the 2023 U16 Western Canadian Championships.
The 15-year-old Bow Valley High School student-athlete played for the Alberta WolfPack, who finished third at the four-team tournament, which was held in Calgary from Aug. 4 to 6.
“It was a great experience for me,” said Graham, who also plays club rugby for the Bow Valley Grizzlies, as well as high-school rugby for the CobraCats team, which is comprised of players from both Cochrane High School and Bow Valley High School.
Graham was one of two Bow Valley Rugby Club players to crack the line-up for Alberta's U16 girls' provincial team, alongside her Grizzlies teammate Brynn Lamb
According to Graham, the WolfPack improved as the tournament went on. They lost handily to B.C. in their opening game, but rebounded quickly with better performances against Saskatchewan, B.C. again, and Ontario, before beating Saskatchewan on Sunday to finish third.
Graham noted the WolfPack players were still developing their chemistry before the tournament got underway, so it made sense the opening game didn't get off to the best of starts for the hosts.
“We lost to B.C. pretty badly in our first game, but it was a great experience,” she said. “Everyone was shaken up because we were all playing together and we’re all new as a team. We beat Saskatchewan and then on Saturday, we played B.C. again. We only had one game on Saturday and then on Sunday, we played Ontario. We did very well against Ontario compared to how B.C. did. Then we played Saskatchewan on Sunday [and won bronze].”
For Graham, the opportunity to play at the western Canadian championships was a dream come true. While she played for a select team in Calgary last year called the Mavericks, she noted this was her first time competing on the provincial team.
A versatile athlete who has played multiple positions for her other rugby teams, Graham said her WolfPack coach informed her before the tournament that she would be playing in the hooking position – a leadership role that requires being vocal on the field.
“I practiced my hooking throws as much as I could,” Graham said. “I continued to practice them as much as I could… because that was something my coach wanted me to work on.”
Graham said the biggest takeaway for her was the opportunity to specialize in a new position.
“[I liked] experiencing one position, because I’m used to playing almost everywhere in club,” she said.
Now that the western Canadian championships are over, Graham said rugby is mostly wrapped up for the summer. Now, she said her athletic focuses will shift back to another sport she competes in competitively: BMX.
“I have three races for BMX [coming up],” said Graham, who added she races out of the Airdrie BMX track. “I enjoy their track better, so I’ll be training there as much as I can this week.”
Always keeping busy, Graham said she also competes in volleyball and hockey during the winters, but that rugby is the sport she's most passionate about. She said her favourite thing about rugby is the sport's sense of community.
“I just like the sportsmanship and how you can kill each other on the field but then hug after the game,” she said.
