Jodie Attrill was picked for her country. Picture by Peter Boam.
ICE HOCKEYANOTHER Island girl is making her mark in the world of ice hockey.
Jodie Attrill, 19, of Marlborough Road, Ryde, has been selected for the England Ladies’ team after a series of trials, and recently took part in the biggest women’s hockey tournament in the world, Hocktoberfest, in Ontario, Canada.
The tournament includes all of Canada’s ladies’ hockey sides, and this England were invited to join in.
While England were successful in their warm-up games, they lost all their matches in the tournament. But there were still plenty of positives to take from the experience.
Jodie, who plays on the right wing and has recently joined Basingstoke Lady Bison from Gosport Amazons, scored in the warm-up games and in England’s opening match of the tournament.
She started her career as a goaltender but later discovered she had a knack for scoring. She played most of her junior career in the IW Junior Ice Hockey Club but has had to go to the mainland as there are not enough girls to form an IW ladies’ team.
Jodie’s father, Justin, who is a coach at the IW Junior Ice Hockey Club, said: "Jodie trialled for England last season but didn’t get picked. But she was selected this time, which shows her dedication.
"Although they didn’t win any games, the tournament showed the girls what they need to do to improve, and it was a great experience overall."
Geoff Doughty, from the IW Junior Ice Hockey Club, said: "Jodie has always been an extremely hard-working player and fully deserves her England call up."
Any girls interested in trying out ice hockey, aged between six and 17, can find out more by e-mailing Geoff on geoffdoughty@yahoo.co.uk