Winners on the team included (left to right) Krissa McKay, Vanessa Corrigal, Christy Roberts, Katy Muirhead and Patricia Kinch. (Submitted photo/Christy Roberts)

By Derek Cornet

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A group of women from La Ronge, Prince Albert and the Saskatoon area won gold medals at the SPN 2024 National Championship last weekend in Martensville.

The Dirty Diamond Divas went undefeated after seven games against no other teams from Saskatchewan. They competed in Division E, and out of the 14 women who play on the team, five currently live in La Ronge or are originally from the community.

They consist of Vanessa Corrigal, Patricia Kinch, Krissa McKay, Katy Muirhead and Christy Roberts.

“Going into it, I wasn’t too sure. I never played a national tournament before,” McKay explained.

“I was a little nervous about how the games were going to be a lot more intense. We all just came together. The team is just really positive and uplifting and no one got down and no one brought the team down. We all just carried each other, so it was really great right from the start. We all just synced up and played really well.”

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McKay began playing with the Dirty Diamond Divas in 2023, but she noted other members of the team have been playing together for longer. Earlier this year, the Dirty Diamond Divas also competed in a tournament in Okotoks, Alta., in February where they won first, as well as another in Nipawin in May where they took third.

After three days of competition, the Dirty Diamond Divas were crowned national champions in their division. (Submitted photo/Christy Roberts)

Roberts has been playing in the team for three years and she called the experience in Martensville over the weekend amazing.

“It was a good feeling to go in playing. We never played one Saskatchewan team, and then knowing we can beat everyone, felt pretty good,” she said.

“We are all just there for each other. We worked as a unit.”

Roberts mentioned she plays with many of the players in an annual ladies league in La Ronge. She added because they all know how each other play, it gave them an edge to the competition.

The Dirty Diamond Divas will next play in the NSA Provincial Championships in Warman in September.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com