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PORTUGAL — Two athletes from Estevan competed for Team Canada at the recent World Aquatics Women's U20 Water Polo Championships in Portugal.

Mikayla Hack and Alia Burlock helped Canada to a 12th-place finish. Canada went 2-0 in the round robin, trouncing Chile 26-3 and defeating France 17-11. In the crossover round, they lost 17-9 to the Netherlands, 16-8 to Australia and 12-9 to New Zealand. A 12-7 loss to Croatia in the first playoff round ended their tournament.

Hack said Team Canada spent a lot of time watching club games to evaluate performance and statistics before picking the team.

"They contacted us at the start of January and asked if we would like to be part of the national team, and then we spent the rest of the year training on our own. Because of money, they didn't want us to have to spend more than the tournament," said Hack.

The teammates came together about a week before the tournament.

Hack said she was very excited to be selected for Team Canada.

"That was one of my goals for this year," she said. "It was something that I was working towards for the first half of the year, and then something that I was very happy I got to work towards for the rest of the year."

Hack believes she improved as the tournament went along, and she was pleased with how the team came together.

"A lot of the European teams had a lot more time to train together, so we found that our team wasn't as put together as the other teams right at the start," she said.

It was really nice to reconnect with Burlock, because they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

Hack spent her initial years in water polo swimming for the Estevan Sharks program. It was an important time in helping her decide this was something she wanted to do.

"The community there was really nice and welcoming, and I found a lot of friends with the Sharks, and a lot of them made it to a pretty high level like I did," she said.

She believes this experience will be really beneficial in her development as an athlete.

"I got to learn a lot of new tactics and skills throughout the tournament, and I'm ready to take that back to my clubs and teach it to a lot of the girls that they can definitely progress," she said.

Hack is currently playing with Team Saskatchewan, and looks forward to what's next for her in the sport.

Burlock noted there would normally be selection camps during the summer months and a tournament to pick Team Canada, but this year it was different.

"Since I'm in the NCAA, some of the coaches came down and watched a few tournaments, and then just talking to other coaches, have connections that way, and that's the same thing for the league in Canada, too," said Burlock. "Coaches would come to tournaments, watch and then get feedback from other coaches."

It was a really fun experience and Burlock enjoyed playing with different athletes from all over the country, many of whom, including Hack, she has played against previously.

Burlock is in her junior year at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is playing for the water polo team, which competes in the NCAA's Division 1. She noted they are ranked sixth in the U.S. entering this season.

Her family moved out of Estevan nearly a decade ago when she was in Grade 5. They relocated quite a bit through her father's job with Enbridge. While she wasn't in Estevan for long, she's grateful to the Estevan Sharks for her growth as an athlete.

"My mom was actually one of my first coaches and she has no water polo background whatsoever," said Burlock.

The other coaches weren't experienced, either, but they created a carefree environment.

"I've always loved the water. I started out as a competitive swimmer, and I wanted to find something in the winters to do in addition to swimming, but I didn't want to do winter club for swimming," said Burlock. 

It was great to be on the same team as Hack and to reconnect with her. It served as a reminder of how far they have come since they were kids.

This wasn't the first time Burlock has been part of Team Canada. When she was 15, she tried out for 18-and-under and 19-and-under events, and she was brought along for experience at a 2 1/2-week training camp in Montreal. Then in 2019, she was at the 17U Pan-American Games in Trinidad and Tobago. This was her first trip since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competing against the best in the world in her age group is a great experience, because it pushes her both physically and mentally.

"It's really helped prepare me and take me to the next level of swimming back here," said Burlock.