A TRAINEE accountant from Reading is celebrating after qualifying for the Lacrosse World Cup in the USA next year.
But instead of representing Great Britain, Emily Standen, a graduate trainee from audit, tax and consulting firm RSM in Reading, will be donning the colours of Argentina.
Emily's journey to the World Cup began during a year abroad in Buenos Aires.
Having moved to the Argentinian capital for a work placement in 2016, Emily, who is the former captain of the Warwick University team, was keen to find a local lacrosse club.
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But as the sport isn't well-established in South America and there was no local women's team, Emily decided to set one up.
After finding willing volunteers using social media and through word of mouth, Emily started coaching her new recruits in the basics of throwing and catching before moving on to team play.
One of the biggest initial challenges was sourcing the right equipment, but her former school, St Catherine's in Bramley, near Guildford, came to the rescue, shipping around 30 used lacrosse sticks to Argentina.
The local team went from strength to strength, eventually teaming up with another club in the south of the country to form Argentina's first national women's team.
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By this time, Emily had returned to the UK to continue her studies.
But when the team were on the lookout for players for the World Cup qualifiers in Florida, Emily – who was eligible to play thanks to the time she spent living in Argentina – was one of the first to receive a call up.
The team played in the pan-American pool, competing against Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to make it through to the finals which take place in Maryland, USA in July 2021.
Ali Sapsford, RSM's office managing partner in Reading said: "We are all extremely proud of Emily for her achievements, not only in helping to establish the sport in Argentina, but also supporting her team to reach the finals.
"And she's done this while also studying hard for her accountancy exams.
"We will all be right behind her as she prepares for the World Cup next year."
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