PEI

Look out! Islander now member of national dodgeball squad

P.E.I.'s Halen Sky has joined the elite in her sport, earning a spot on the national dodgeball team.

Halen Sky will get to play at world championships in October

P.E.I.'s Halen Sky was named to Team Canada in April, one of the elite dodgeball players in the country. (CBC)

The sport of dodgeball is growing on P.E.I., and one Islander is at the top of the game.

Halen Sky was named to Team Canada last month, after tryouts at the national championships.

She is in Ontario where she'll be part of the national dodgeball festival.

"It means that I'm going to be training all summer and into the fall, and I'll be playing at Worlds," she told Island Morning's Mitch Cormier.

"I'm going to have to go to some training camps in a sense, and just make sure that I'm developing personally as well at home."

Many people are still surprised dodgeball is a competitive sport, and Sky said one of the biggest issues is raising the money to compete and train.

Halen Sky says because dodgeball is still growing, it doesn't get a lot of financial support, and she'll have to do a lot of fundraising to be on the national team. (CBC)

"Because it isn't yet quite recognized as a high level sport, there isn't a lot of funding," she said.

"Dodgeball Canada does a great job as a non-profit, doing its best to help its athletes and build the community so it can be more larger-scale, but we do require a lot of sponsors and things like that, so I'm going to have to do quite a bit of fundraising."

The world dodgeball championships are being hosted by Canada this year. Sky will join her teammates on the national squad in Markham, Ont. for the meet Oct. 18 to 21.

From the Island Morning interview by Mitch Cormier