Edouard Burrows-Leclerc and Nathan Bento, two young residents of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, are off to Austria to represent Quebec at the United World Games, the world's largest junior sporting event.

This large-scale world championship will be in full swing from June 20 to 23 in Klagenfurt. It will bring together over 8,000 athletes from 30 nations. The delegation will take off on June 18.

Edouard will be playing on the men's U13 dek field hockey team, while Nathan has been selected for the U13 ice hockey team. For these children, it's a privilege to take part in a competition of this level, as they'll be competing against teams from all over the world, and it's a major personal achievement for these two young athletes from the region.

Defending the dek champion title

While many will be discovering the old continent for the first time, others will be there to defend their championship title. Last year, the three men's dek field hockey teams returned home with gold medals, while the three women's teams took home silver and bronze. Expectations are pretty high, as Quebec is recognized as a world force in dek field hockey.

"We've chosen youngsters who are really fiery! Yes, they're good at ball field hockey, but we're talking about kids who are on the mat for effort. They're always working. We've got some very good teams and we think there's going to be some good competition, especially against the Czechs, the Slovaks and the USA. What's more, new countries like India have entered the competition. It's really going to be a unique experience for our youngsters in Austria," says Stéphane Legault, head coach of Équipes Québec and head coach of Mobux in the National Ball Hockey League.

Ice hockey, a new discipline for the Quebec delegation

For their first experience at the Games, four ice hockey teams will be led by Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes player and Granby coach Félix Lauzon.

"It's a great opportunity for us to be there! When I was told about the project, I didn't hesitate for a second. We quickly organized a selection camp and managed to start up four teams with players from all over Quebec," says Félix Lauzon. The youngsters will play in the U12, U14 and U16 men's categories.

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