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St. Albert cops back from World Police and Fire Games

Pair take bronze in rugby
2009 RCMPRugby 1532 km
BEAT THE BRITS — St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Michelle Mosher, left, and former St. Albert resident Eleena Monk won bronze for Team Canada Red last month during the women's rugby event of the 2022 World Police and Fire Games in the Netherlands. Monk is shown here wearing the official Team Canada uniform. KEVIN MA/St. Albert Gazette

Two St. Albert law officers won bronze for Canada last month during an international rugby tournament despite one of them turning coat to play for the British.

St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Michelle Mosher and former St. Albert resident Eleena Monk won bronze medals in July during the 2022 World Police and Fire Games in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The Games, which ran from July 22-31, saw about 10,000 police, fire, customs, and correctional service personnel from 70 nations gather to promote sportsmanship and respect for emergency personnel. Participants competed in some 63 events, including angling, archery, bowling, police dog handling, and ultimate firefighting.

Mosher and Monk played for Team Canada Red in the Women’s Rugby Sevens event, defeating the British Police Rugby squad for the bronze.

Notably, Mosher and Monk’s squad still won despite Monk switching sides to play for the British mid-game. Monk said the British team was down a player mid-match, so she volunteered to play for them.

“I betrayed my country for the UK!” she joked.

“I was fairly confident we were going to win and even my best efforts for the UK side wouldn’t change that.”

Olympic-like event

Mosher and Monk have both played for the St. Albert Rugby Football Club, with Mosher also acting as a club coach last summer. Mosher said she was recruited for Team Canada last fall by a Calgary police officer who knew her; she, in turn, drafted Monk, who at the time was a conservation officer in Slave Lake.

“It was something that was always on my bucket list to do,” Mosher said of the Games, and she wanted to play in them while youth was still on her side.

Monk, who grew up in St. Albert, said the Games seemed like an amazing opportunity to combine her job and her favourite sport, all while checking out her Dutch roots in the Netherlands.

Rugby Sevens is a seven versus seven version of rugby played with seven-minute halves, Monk said. (Rugby is usually 15 versus 15 with 40-minute halves.) It’s a fast-paced game with lots of running, as you have half the number of players on the same size of field.

Mosher and Monk said the team didn’t have much time to practice apart from a training camp in Calgary in June. Team members relied on their communications skills and sports experience to trust each other on the field.

The Games began with an Olympic-style opening ceremony at the Stadium Feijenoord featuring a procession of athletes, a helicopter, and a ceremonial torch. Mosher said the Canadians stayed on the old SS Rotterdam cruise ship during the Games and toured the area by bus and water taxi.

Monk said the rugby tournament was a two-day round-robin affair — it was supposed to be three days, but organizers cut it back because it was too hot out. The Canada Red squad played against France, the UK, and the Canada White team, the latter of which took silver in the finals against France.

Monk said the UK squad was a lot of fun to play against, and everyone had drinks and exchanged jerseys after the match. The French were small but fast and skilled at stealing the ball.

“I was exhausted at the end of the game,” Monk said.

Monk and Mosher said the Games were a great chance to meet police officers and firefighters from around the world. Both hoped to play for Team Canada again next year when the Games come to Winnipeg.

It feels pretty good to be a world-class medallist, Monk said.

“I’m very proud of our team and very happy I got to be a part of everything.”

Visit wpfgrotterdam2022.com for details on the games.


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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