Shelly Hruska is a Canadian

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, primar ...

ringette Ringette is a contact sport, non-contact winter team sport played on ice hockey rinks using Ice skates#Ice hockey skates, ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a #Equipment, blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice ...

and

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

player, coach, and teacher from

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. Hruska helped lead

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

twice to victory in the

World Ringette Championships The World Ringette Championships (WRC) is the premier international competition in ringette and is governed by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Unlike most international competitions, all of the WRC's elite athletes are female rather ...

. Hruska was inducted into the Ringette Manitoba Hall of Fame in 2016–2017 under the category, "Player". Hruska was a member of 2002 national team who won gold at the

2002 World Ringette Championships The 2002 World Ringette Championships (''2002 WRC'') was an international ringette tournament and the 6th edition (XI) of the World Ringette Championships organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). The tournament was contested in E ...

in Edmonton, Alberta, then became a member of the 2004 national team once again, competing at the

2004 World Ringette Championships The 2004 World Ringette Championships (''2004 WRC'') was an international ringette tournament and the 7th (XII) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Stock ...

in Stockholm, Sweden where she played a key role on the team which won the silver.Forsyth, J., & Giles, A.R. (Eds.). (2013). Aboriginal Peoples & Sport in Canada: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. In 2010, Hruska helped the

Canada women's national bandy team , - , - , - Canada's women's national bandy team ( French: ''Équipe nationale féminine de bandy du Canada'') is the women's bandy team representing Canada. Historically the squad has been based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The women' ...

to a 4th place finish overall at the

2010 Women's Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship for women 2010 was contested between 6 bandy playing countries. The championship was played in Drammen, Norway from 24 to 27 February. Sweden defeated Russia, 3-2 following overtime, in the final game. Participating te ...

Early life

At a young age, Hruska was involved in many sports, including ballet, tap dancing, softball, baseball, figure skating, and ringette. Having originally learned to skate on

figure skate Figure skates are a type of ice skate used by figure skaters. The skates consist of a ''boot'' and a ''blade'' that is attached with screws to the sole of the boot. Inexpensive sets for recreational skaters are available, but most figure skaters pu ...

s, Hruska's parents enrolled her in power skating to teach her to skate on

hockey skates Ice skates are metal blades attached underfoot and used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates ...

. Growing up in Winnipeg, Hruska joined a ringette team, where she enjoyed the team's cooperation, closeness, and team spirit. Hruska made A-level ringette teams in Winnipeg and eventually became a strong ringette player by the age of 14.

Playing career

Ringette

At the age of 15, Hruska made the APFG Sixers, an AA provincial ringette team. Hruska and the Sixers won the provincial championships and went on to represent Manitoba at the national ringette championships known as the

Canadian Ringette Championships Canadian Ringette Championships, ''(french: Championnats Canadien d'Ringuette)'', sometimes abbreviated ''CRC'', is Canada's annual premiere national ringette tournament for the best ringette players and teams in the country. It encompasses three a ...

. Hruska was continually asked to represent Manitoba every year that followed, eventually helping Team Manitoba capture silver at the 1999

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

. As her playing career continued, she tried out for Team Canada and made the team in time for the

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

where Team Canada won gold defeating

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

3-1. Hruska represented Team Canada once again at the 2004 World Ringette Championships in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...

, where she was a key player in their victory.

Women's bandy

In 2009 Hruska helped Team Canada capture 5th place at the

Women's Bandy World Championship The Women's Bandy World Championships is an international sports tournament for women and the premier international competition for women's bandy between bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Ban ...

.http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/db/11639

Personal life

In her personal time Hruska is a certified Level 2 ringette coach and an instructor at the Lisa Brown Ringette Retreat in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

. Hruska also acts as a motivational speaker to inspire

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

and non-Aboriginal communities while promoting a healthy active lifestyle and its benefits.

Awards & Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hruska, Shelly Living people Métis sportspeople Ringette players Bandy players Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian sportswomen