A huge team of 46 Ottawa athletes are set to compete at the St. John’s 2025 Canada Summer Games in Newfoundland. The Ottawa Sports Pages will be sending out a free daily email newsletter with recaps, previews and profiles throughout the Aug. 9-24 national youth multi-sport event.
By clicking on the submit button, you consent to receive the above newsletter from the Ottawa Sports Pages. You may unsubscribe by clicking on the link at the bottom of our emails. Ottawa Sports Pages | 21 Kolo Dr., Ashton, Ont., K0A 1B0 | 613-261-5838
By Dan Plouffe
Kyleigh Payne will hardly have a moment to savour her most recent gold medal before jumping on a plane in pursuit of another.
The 16-year-old Team Ontario box lacrosse goaltender is fresh off winning a provincial ‘B’ championship with her Nepean Knights club team at the Ontario Lacrosse Festival from Aug. 5-7 in Whitby.
The Knights opened with a 3-2 victory over Orangeville and then beat Wallaceburg 5-0, Barrie 4-1 and Six Nations 5-0 to reach the championship game, where they again topped Orangeville 3-2.
Payne stood tall as she and her teammates endured some nervous final moments when Orangeville pulled within a goal of tying the game with 2:18 left.
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Payne enters the Canada Games with previous experience – and a track record of success – at national competitions.
She won gold medals at both the 2023 and 2022 Canadian championships as a member of Team Ontario, and was named game MVP on two occasions during the 2022 run, including the final game.
“It’s a lot faster and a lot more difficult, but it’s so much more fun to just be in that space and experience it,” Payne said of playing at the national level in a 2023 interview with the Ottawa Sports Pages’ Keaton Hills.
Though most of her summer days are now consumed by lacrosse, Payne’s initial interest in the sport stemmed from her dislike of soccer.
“My parents were like, ‘Well, if you don’t like soccer, you have to do something else.’So we started with box lacrosse. That branched out into field lacrosse as well,” recounted Payne, who also plays field lacrosse for her high school team, made up mostly of male players, at Sacred Heart in Stittsville.
When Payne first started lacrosse, there was no designated goaltender and they would rotate positions. When it was Payne’s turn to play in net, she found that she really enjoyed it, so the next season she asked her coach if she could stick with it the whole year and she agreed.
Current Knights coach Hunter Gibbons said Payne has become a strong performer under pressure and a hard worker.
“Kylie is kind of like the mom of the team within the Nepean Knights,” Gibbons highlighted. “She’s played for a long time and has been a really consistently strong goaltender.”
Team Ontario enters St. John’s 2025 as the reigning – and only – Canada Games champion, having won the first female box lacrosse Canada Games tournament ever at Niagara 2022. That team also featured a Nepean Knights/Gloucester Griffins product as well in Tristan Thompson, who’s since gone on to play NCAA ice hockey.
No doubt Payne would like to continue her golden tradition, but she’s also got her eye on the bigger picture.
“My personal role model is my first coach I had when playing girls box lacrosse, Ashantae Spalding,” Payne wrote in her Canada Games bio. “She has played all over the country for a plethora of teams. Also, she works well with children and introducing them to the sport.
“I want to be like her and show everyone around me kindness and support while also being my best player.”
– with files from Keaton Hills
Ottawa at the Canada Games Daily Newsletter
A huge team of 46 Ottawa athletes are set to compete at the St. John’s 2025 Canada Summer Games in Newfoundland. The Ottawa Sports Pages will be sending out a free daily email newsletter with recaps, previews and profiles throughout the Aug. 9-24 national youth multi-sport event.
By clicking on the submit button, you consent to receive the above newsletter from the Ottawa Sports Pages. You may unsubscribe by clicking on the link at the bottom of our emails. Ottawa Sports Pages | 21 Kolo Dr., Ashton, Ont., K0A 1B0 | 613-261-5838
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