My name is Crystal Manning and I am sixteen years of age. I started playing inline hockey in 2012 after watching a movie called Mighty Ducks. For little Crystal, Mighty Ducks was the coolest thing ever; all I wanted to do was play ice hockey. At the time, the closest thing to me was a small inline hockey club in Gawler. I approached my parents at the ripe age of five and asked if I could play. They agreed and my first season was the summer of 2012, in which I played Under 11s.

From that season onward, I never put down my skates and stick. I was introduced to State hockey in 2017 and have played for South Australia on numerous occasions as both a captain and assistant captain on my chosen teams. At both the 2018 and 2019 national competitions, I was also selected to play for Australia.

At the end of 2022, a good friend of mine started a women's inline hockey group chat. This chat sparked the beginning of the Adelaide Jaguars, which was my first experience playing in an all women's team. Throughout this year, the Jags and I have played in multiple tournaments, including Club Wars in Bendigo, in which we won the women's division. It was through this competition that I was selected to play for two of the women's Aussie Roos teams. I will be travelling to the USA in July 2023 as a part of these teams and am looking for support from my local community to assist with the cost of the trip.