Players with different backgrounds animate the MWBA

Émilie Turmel and Anne-Marie Poitras are part of the Moncton Mystics, one of six teams in the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association (MWBAMaritime Women Basketball Association in English, for Maritime Women Basketball Association).

The new competitive circuit was created to provide an opportunity for women to play at an elite level after their university or college career.

For both players, it’s a return to active competition after playing just for fun for the past few years.

I heard about this league that was being created in the Maritimessays Émilie Turmel, who is the mother of a 13-month-old little boy.

” Then, I said to myself that I was going to try myself to see. Am I still able to compete with girls who are fresh out or still in college? The answer is yes so far! »

She played at the college level, ten years ago, while Anne-Marie Poitras evolved on the university scene. When they concluded their sports career, there were no other options. The MWBAMaritime Women Basketball Association therefore meets a need. And the first weeks of the league fill them with happiness.

That fire had been so extinguished, but has just been so rekindledlaunches Anne-Marie Poitras. It took me back to when I was playing as a youngest, junior and just starting to know basketball and love the sport.

This new competition circuit describes itself as amateur, but wants to treat players professionally in its operation.

The league has adopted a code of conduct, which focuses as much on refereeing, decorum as the commitment of players and coaching staff.

It matters for basketball, it matters for womenemphasizes Anne-Marie Poitras. The message tells us that you still have a place to play, you have value and that the sport does not stop after [l’université]. It shows that you can bring something else, you can show that there are sports that are accessible.

From poetry to basketball

The cultural world in Acadie knows Émilie Turmel well for her collections of poetry and for her work at the Frye Festival in Moncton. But, before literature, she was also a formidable college basketball player in Quebec. A part of his life that we knew less.

Imagine when I tell basketball girls that I do poetry!she says, laughing.

” It’s my two personalities, my two lives: the cultural world and the sporting world. It has always stayed with me. Then, it always gave the same reaction in one environment as in the other! »

The poet has never written about basketball, but it’s not certain that it won’t come one day, between two free throws!

The players all have jobs in addition to playing basketball on the new circuit. Anne-Marie Poitras, for example, is a corporal in the RCMPRoyal Canadian Mounted Police in Moncton and mother of two teenage girls. It’s been a very busy week for him!

” I make sure to do my job well during my 12-hour shift with the RCMPRoyal Canadian Mounted Police of Moncton. I also make sure that when my children are at home, I spend time with them. I also coach my youngest in basketball. Of course I have to deal with this. Then, in addition, I am a weightlifting athlete. »

The teams will play matches in their respective cities starting Thursday. The league will hold another tournament at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax on May 28-29 in tournament format.

Beyond the results of games, Émilie Turmel noted that the real victory is the development of the sport in the long term.

” After an exhibition game, there were little girls waiting for us who wanted autographs. I told myself that we can motivate and inspire the younger generation to say that it is possible to reach a high level in Moncton, that it is possible in the Maritimes to shine and continue my sport for a long time. »

In addition to the Moncton Mystics, there are the Halifax Thunder, Halifax Hornets, Windsor Edge, Port City Fog (in Saint John) and Fredericton Freeze.