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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
Mourning a life cut too short 21-year-old Graeme Carswell of Tsawwassen remembered for enthusiasm, field hockey prowess JESSICA KERR
j ke r r @ d e l t a - o p t i m i s t .c o m
Family, friends and the field hockey community are in shock and mourning after the drowning death of 21-year-old Graeme Carswell last weekend. The Tsawwassen resident and South Delta Secondary grad was fishing with a friend on the banks of the Chilliwack River last Sunday when he fell in and got caught up in the current. “His companion was not able to rescue him and called for help,” the B.C. Coroners Service said in a news release. Chilliwack RCMP and a search and rescue team responded and pulled Carswell from the river several kilometres downstream. He was taken to Chilliwack General Hospital but could not be resuscitated. Carswell is being remembered for his enthusiasm and cheerful disposition as well as his prowess on the field hockey pitch. He had recently returned from playing club hockey for MHC Amstelveen in the Netherlands and had formerly played for the Canadian Under-21 junior national team and the University of Victoria Vikes. He also played for teams in West Vancouver and locally with the Tsawwassen Falcons. “Over the last month I have enjoyed watching Graeme come to our club and start loving hockey again,” Rob Short, a former national team player and captain of the West Vancouver Premier men’s team, said in a statement on the Field Hockey Canada website.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FIELD HOCKEY CANADA
Graeme Carswell was a promising field hockey player who had recently returned from playing in the Netherlands. “He was playing the best hockey of his life,” he said. “Tonight I felt the true feeling of how important my club is to me.” Short and Carswell played together on the Tsawwassen team for two years after Short
returned from playing in Holland for 14 years. Then, just two months ago, Short got a message that Carswell was back from his own stint in the Netherlands and was interested in playing with Short’s current team in West Vancouver.
Carswell joined the team and Short recalled his last conversation with him. It was on Saturday, the day before the accident. He said he was sitting next to Carswell in the locker room as the team celebrated a big win.
Short said the two were talking about Carswell’s excitement about playing for the team. “He was just on top of the world,” Short told the Optimist. “I know he was in a happy place.” DUTCH: see Page 3
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