10

Shannon Barber (F)

Cambridge Turbos

Biography

Shanon, at 5'1'' was always a very small ringette player, who started when she was just 3 years old in Paris, Ontario. She learned to skate early, as she was always at arenas for her older sister's games and became their team mascot. She got to skate out to centre ice during their warm-ups at regional championships.

Shannon, although small physically, was a big presence on a number of rep teams that won several regional championships in novice and won provincial gold in petite AA in 2003. This followed with silver medals at provincials in 2006, and at the nationals in 2008 (chosen by Nepean to accompany them to the nationals in Alberta). Shannon was an AP player for U-19 national east team in 2009(won silver medal in Prague) and was on the AAA team in 2010 that went to the Ontario Winter Games. Shannon was honoured with the Agnes Jacks award in 2011.

Shannon says her best ringette memory is when the Cambridge petite AA team won a gold medal at the provincials in 2003. They had met Gloucester at several tournaments, and the Devils had always managed to beat them. Cambridge met Gloucester again in the provincial finals that year. They had nothing to lose and came out with a lot of confidence and handed Gloucester their only loss of the year to take home the gold medal.

Reaching the NRL was always Shannon’s goal and she feels it is a great honour to play with and against the best players in the country and world. Shannon is now in her first year at Wilfrid Laurier University and plays rep soccer in the summer time when she’s not busy with ringette.