The following is being distributed at the request of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador:

The Newfoundland Soccer Association will be entering its Canada Games '97 women's soccer team in two high level out of province tournaments this summer. As well, the team will be participating in the St. John's Senior Women's League. Coached by Ed Arnott, the provincial women's coach, assisted by Mary Stordy, this year's team will be picked on Sunday afternoon after a two-day selection camp which will be held Saturday and Sunday (May 25 and 26) at the Provincial Training Centre field at Torbay beginning 9 a.m. Saturday.

The team will be selected from a pool of 25 players chosen by Arnott. He appears to be optimistic about the level of talent eligible for his team. "I've been coaching and scouting the girls in this age group (under 19 this year) for four years now and there's a lot of ability in the pool of players eligible for this team. I feel that the players who have been invited to this camp have the potential to compete favourably against any Canada Games female team in the country. Whether or not they ever reach that potential will depend in large part on their commitment and dedication to soccer over the next 16 months."

Arnott intends to select 17 players Sunday and play them in a Canada Games Invitational Women's Soccer Tournament to be held in St. John's June 21-23 and featuring the top senior teams in the province. As well, the team will play in the Atlantic Provinces Elite Tournament scheduled for Charlottetown, P.E.I., July 5-7, and the National U-19 Elite Tournament which will be held in Brandon, Manitoba, July 23-28.

Contact: Ed Arnott, (709) 754-1777 (H) or (709) 579-4100 (B). 1996 05 21 11:35 a.m. /md