I sat down with hockey player Camille Dumais '13 to talk about her last season at Dartmouth, her experiences playing hockey in different countries and her aversion to cold weather.
How has this season progressed for you thus far?
It's been good. Since it's my senior year, it kind of feels like everything is coming to an end soon. For me, it's been great to perform as I have on the ice and to be able to do it with my whole team.
What do you hope to achieve this season?
Personally, I try to help the team as much as I can. The team's goal is to make it to NCAAs, and that has been our goal since the beginning of the year. Right now, we're taking it one game at a time and focusing on doing little things in order to make it there.
Are there any games coming up this season that you are looking forward to?
Cornell [University] next weekend is definitely going to be a big game. It's always a big game against them. Senior weekend after that is definitely a big one too, especially because we lost against Clarkson [University] and Saint Lawrence [University] the last time we played them. It'll be a bit of a revenge contest. Also it's our last full weekend. There's going to be a lot of emotion.
Have you ever considered playing a position other than forward?
I started off playing defense as a kid, but my dad put me on forward and I scored three goals, so he decided I would be a forward. I wouldn't play another position because I like to attack, but I love goofing off and pretending to be a goalie when they have goalie practice.
Since you are from Quebec, I'm sure you have experienced more extreme conditions than what we faced this weekend. What is the most snow you've ever seen?
I think there was one huge storm where we had about six feet of snow. We opened the door and it was so high we couldn't even go outside. I'm actually really not a fan of cold weather.
So I guess you didn't choose a great sport for someone who doesn't like the cold.
I'd definitely rather be warm than be cold. I remember the first time I put my skates on I was just crying because it was so cold. My mom took off my skates and told me I wasn't going to play again till I stopped crying. I guess I probably chose the wrong sport from the cold, but it worked out in the end.
Have you noticed any differences between playing hockey in Canada and in the U.S.?
I think the league in the U.S. has a lot more teams, so more games. That kind of raises the level of competition. I don't think the game changes, I think it's more the competition and the challenge. Even coming in my freshman year, there were games that you could go into and know who was going to win, but this year you look at the games that have happened and in no games can we say who will come out as winner and loser. It shows how great of a program and level the league is. I think Canada also has a good league in terms of universities, but since we're so scattered there isn't as much potential there.
As one of the most senior members on the team, have you seen any changes in women's hockey at Dartmouth during your time here?
The level of play has really increased tremendously. Even just the level that the freshmen come in at has gotten a lot better. Now it's like they're coming in and they're already such a big part of the team and the success. It shows that overall, women's hockey is getting a lot better. It's really promising. My sister is 15 and already knows she has the potential to go to university in hockey, whereas when I was 15 I didn't even know you could play hockey in university.
Do you guys have any funny team traditions that you like?
We have quite a bit. A funny one is the weirdest freshman award. The sophomore that was chosen [last year] gets to pick the freshman they think is the weirdest. It's always a big tradition.
Do you think you are continuing hockey after you graduate?
I don't know what I'm going to do. I definitely don't think I'll keep it as high of a commitment as I have, I think I'll live vicariously through my younger sister for now. I don't think I can definitely say I will stop or play, right now it's very up in the air. We'll see what happens.
