Melissa grew up in Vancouver and now resides in Whistler, BC. She has been involved in sports for most of her life; playing basketball throughout high school and college. Afterwards she received her Coaching and Instruction Certificate from Langara College and began coaching and refereeing basketball at the high school and college levels. Eventually Melissa became the Assistant Coach of the Langara Women’s basketball team, winning a Provincial title once and qualifying for Nationals over her two seasons with them.
As an adult, she continues to play sports, but focused more on hockey in all of its forms. From street and ball hockey, to roller and ice hockey, the sport has given her endless opportunities to excel and stay active. She was fortunate to be a part of the first Women’s Team Canada ball hockey team that participated and won Gold in Germany at the World Championships in 2007 and then again in 2009 in the Czech Republic. In 2016, she participated at the Masters World Championships in Banff, AB where Team Canada won Gold again.
Because of the opportunities and support given to her throughout her life to be a part of organized sports, she thought it was time to start giving back. Melissa jumped on the chance to run the Whistler Spring Hockey tournaments in support of the Grindstone Award Foundation and helped raise $10,000 for the Charity in 2018. Her goal is to raise more funds to ensure every girl who needs help financially to pursue hockey is able to!
