Sports

Local ball hockey goaltender brings home gold with Team Canada at U16 world championship

July 30, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Orangeville youth hockey player proudly represented the town at the first-ever U16 Girls Ball Hockey World Championship, helping Team Canada defeat its opponents to secure the title.

The U16 Girls Ball Hockey World Championship was hosted in Sheffield, England, with teams from across the globe travelling abroad to participate.

There could only be one winner, however, and that winner was Team Canada.

Defending the net for Team Canada was Orangeville’s own Scarlett Ros, a 14-year-old ice and ball hockey player. Ros is still riding high from the excitement of the win, describing the experience as eye-opening and a lot of fun.

“It feels really great to bring back gold,” she said. “It was really amazing to be able to meet a whole bunch of new people out there, and it was just a really cool experience. We also got to see different styles of play from different countries, which was awesome.”

Ros was initially scouted for Team Canada a year ago while playing in the Youth 15 Girls Nationals in Mississauga. While she didn’t hear back within the window she was told, her family was confident she would be chosen because of her performance during the championship, earning the title of MVP.

The excitement was worth it because Ros was indeed scouted, joined Team Canada, and went off to Great Britain to compete against other countries in the newly created tournament.

There was some stiff competition, according to Ros.

“The Slovakian and Czechian teams were tough,” she said. “It’s all very similar play, but they had a different view of the sport. They were a lot more focused on the offence, and they had a lot more tactics for the offensive zones. Team USA was also really good, so between those three, they were our toughest competition.”

Team Canada fought through the best and took gold despite the tough competition. Ros described the post-game experience as electrifying and said she really developed as a player because of Team Canada.

“The energy in the room after and at the hotel that night was just unmatchable, it was such a great feeling,” she said. “I feel like with meeting all these new girls, I really got a new understanding of how even though we may have never met each other, we can still play hockey, learn new skills and become friends in a very short amount of time.”

With this strong run with Team Canada behind her, Ros doesn’t plan to sit idle. She is eyeing a future in professional hockey and remains interested in pursuing the sport both on and off the ice.

“I’ve been playing ice hockey since I was nine, but I’ve only started ball hockey four years ago now, so ice hockey is still probably my main,” she said. “I would love the opportunity to play pro in the future if possible.”

At just 14 years old, Ros has already represented her country on the international stage and returned home with a gold medal. With her sights set on continuing both her ice and ball hockey careers, the Orangeville goaltender hopes this championship is just the first of many milestones to come.

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