PARIS — Charity Williams, in her third Olympics, has been at this a long time with the Langford-based Canadian women’s rugby sevens team and is the last connection to the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist squad.
Olympic rookie Krissy Scurfield is newer to the game after switching from hockey to star with the University of Victoria Vikes. They represent the career bookends as Canada begins its quest to return to the podium when it opens Sunday in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France.
Canada is in a very difficult pool against 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Fiji at 8:30 a.m. PT and defending Tokyo Olympic champion New Zealand at 12:30 p.m PT. Canada will conclude group play on Monday at 7 a.m PT against China. The medal rounds are on Tuesday.
“It feels surreal — a 10 year journey that is still going. I feel lucky to still be in Victoria training and to still be on the national team with all these young players and that’s exciting,” said Williams, whose career has been highlighted by her game-breaking speed down the wings.
“I’ve been around so long, so hopefully the younger players do look up to me. I am lucky to have been through three versions of this team through three totally different cycles.
“I bring a level of experience to this really new and young team, which is really cool. To be honest, I look up to them so it’s a really cool joint relationship we have with each other.”
Among the youth brigade, that will carry forward to Los Angeles 2028 when Williams is likely in retirement, is Scurfield.
“I dreamed of playing in the Olympics,” she said.
But the former Midget Triple-A hockey star from Canmore, Alta., never thought it would be in rugby sevens. Scurfield was mulling several full-ride NCAA hockey scholarships in Grades 11-12 before enrolling in an RBC Training Ground session in 2021 that redirected her to rugby, which led to the UVic Vikes, and today to the Stade de France as an Olympian. “Hockey was such a massive part of my life. My dream was to play in university and then for the national team in hockey and it was a huge decision to switch to rugby,” said Scurfield, 21.
“But Training Ground saw more potential for me in rugby and steered me away from hockey. That fed my dreams in a different way and showed I had Olympic potential, but not in the sport I thought. It’s been quite the ride.”
Canada qualified by winning the North American and Caribbean Olympic qualifying tournament last August at Starlight Stadium and comes into Paris ranked No. 5 in the world.
“We are right there. We are really knocking on the door,” said Williams, who despite her longevity, is only 27.
“We all know what’s at stake. We are looking good and feeling confident. We have beaten every team on the World Series circuit this season. We are a smaller but faster team and have to be strong in contact.”
Speaking of contact, Canadian team captain Olivia Apps had the kind before the Games that nobody wants. Apps was bitten by a cougar last month while hiking in Strathcona Provincial Park with another woman. The women bear-sprayed the cougar, which fled. Apps was treated at Campbell River Hospital and was soon back preparing for Paris at Starlight Stadium.
“Olivia is pushing us forward in the contact area, for sure,” Williams joked.
Canada’s hopes in the Olympics have been tempered by the loss of Victoria’s Sophie de Goede, one of the best players in the world, after the Oak Bay Secondary graduate tore her ACL in training just before the team left for Paris. “It’s hard to really wrap my head around. I’ll be cheering the girls on at the Olympics,” she said.
Even without de Goede, hopes are high.
“We are gutted for Sophie but are confident in our depth,” said Canadian player Chloe Daniels.
“The energy of the team is amazing right now.”
Fellow-Canadian player Keyara Wardley concurred, and said she is hoping for great things as the show has moved from Langford to the big stage: “We’ve built so much over the past three years and are excited to put on a show in Paris to show the country what we have.
“We’ve grown a lot. We trust in our systems and trust each other.”
