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Sundre’s Lauren Meservia is doing something very few people will ever do – she’s breaking new ground as a member of a national sports team, in her case, playing on the first-ever Canadian Women’s U-21 canoe polo team.

The team will be heading to Milan, Italy this fall to compete in the 8th Annual World Canoe Polo Championships, where they will face off against teams from Great Britain, France, Italy and elsewhere.

Lauren, 15, explained that she had actually never heard of canoe polo or even done any kayaking before joining the U-21 team in September.

"I’m extremely excited to be going to Italy; it’s going to be awesome," she said during last week’s team practice at the Sundre AquaPlex. "It’s amazing but also a little nerve-wracking to be the first."

Canoe polo is actually played in kayaks, with teams of five competing on an Olympic sized pool called a pitch. Players pass and shoot a ball the same size as a volleyball into nets suspended above the ends of the pool.

These days the Canadian U-21 team is spending Mondays and Wednesdays training at the Sundre AquaPlex; Tuesdays and Thursdays in Red Deer.

Although she’s just starting out in canoe polo, Lauren is no stranger to organized sports – she has been playing hockey for 10 years and is a current member of the Olds midget girls team.

Playing a variety of sports, also including softball, has been a big help in preparing her physically for canoe polo, keeping her in shape and teaching her how to play as a team member, Lauren said.

Sundre River Valley teacher Christie Siddle, an assistant coach on the U-21 team as well as a member of the Women’s National Team, is largely responsible for Lauren getting into the sport of canoe polo in the first place.

"She was in my Grade 8 class in the first year I taught here so I kept saying ‘Lauren, come, come, come, you’ve got to come play’," said Siddle. "Because she’s the athlete she is, she finally came. And she’s doing incredibly well.

"She really is quite the little athlete. She only started kayaking in September and she’s already made this team. Right now there are not a lot of players at this age group for women because we’ve never had an Under-21 Women’s category at this level before."

Lauren says Siddle and head coach Keegan Smith have been very helpful in bringing her up to speed in the sport.

For her part, Lauren’s mom Mary says she’s very pleased her daughter has taken up yet another sport.

"I’m thrilled for her and I think this is a wonderful opportunity," said Mary. "She’s very excited and so am I. And it’s so exciting to watch."

Lauren and her Alberta teammates, including Shylo Hendrickson, 16, Hanna Gillies, 16, Ashley Cunningham, 15, and Lauren Maldaner, 17, found out only last month that they will be heading to Italy.

"It’s definitely a unique opportunity," said head coach Keegan Smith.

The young women on the team have been chosen for the squad based on their performance at training camps, their individual skill, and their teamwork ability, he explained.

Smith, who has been working with the same group of girls for about the last year-and-a-half, said that the fact the national team is comprised of all Albertans is due to canoe polo still being a fairly new sport in Canada, and also because Alberta is a centre for kayak and canoe sports.