Millie Gooch, Maya Piras and Brooke Galley will board a plane to Vancouver on Wednesday, and have two days to acclimatise before competing at Kalowna in British Columbia.

It will be the first time competing overseas for all three athletes, but they’re looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge.

“Very excited!” said Galley, who will be competing in the 200, 400, 800 and long jump events.

“This will be such a great experience and such a privilege to represent our country over there … amazing.”

“It’s going to be a really good experience to meet new people and experience different things like competing in a different country,” said Gooch, the youngest of the trio at 13.

“I’m just really keen to get over there and start running!”

Gooch, Piras, 15, and Galley, 15, train under the tutelage of Dubbo Athletics Club coach Mark Penman and were all invited on the 19-day Canadian and US trip after strong performances at the NSW All Schools Track and Field Championships in October.

“They really deserve it,” said Penman, who arranged a fundraising carnival on Sunday to support the girls’ trip.

“I imagine that most of their friends wouldn’t understand really the commitment that the girls make.

“They’re leaders in the club. The other kids can look up to them and see what you can achieve if you work hard.”

The tour will see them compete at Kelowna and then Vancouver, while they will also fit in tours of Whistler Mountain and then California.

Gooch has the busiest schedule in Canada – she’s down to compete in the 100, 200, long jump, high jump, triple jump and the relay, while Piras will be one of Australia’s strongest athletes in the 100-metre hurdles.

The 15 years girls 90-metre hurdles NSW Little Athletics champion trains that event on her own in Dubbo, with remote support from champion Sydney coach Ron Bendall.

“We email each other and he gives me things to do and I see him a couple of times a year which is good,” said Piras, who is the fastest-ranked hurdler in Australia for her age group.

“There’s Tuesdays and Sundays [training] with Mark and then I do my own for hurdles … that’s sort of the hard part because I’ve got to do it by myself, I’ve got to push myself.

“Some days it’s really hard, and then you don’t think that you can come back but then, because you like it so much, you come back.”

Not to be outdone, Piras will also compete in the 100, 200, long jump and the relay.

But she’s not the only one with a pet event; Gooch favours the sprint events.

“The 100 because I don’t get tired in it!” Gooch said. “It’s just over real quick and I just love sprinting.”

And while she’s “dead after it”, Galley prefers the middle distance of the 400.

“It’s not fun … and I don’t look forward to doing it but, I don’t know … the middle distance is my best,” she said.

“Afterwards, the reward it gives you … I like having that feeling of accomplishing something [when I get a personal best] or win a race or a carnival.”

The trio will land back in Australia on July 15, but Gooch at least is already looking to her next goal.

“Definitely [aim] to make it to the Olympics and win a gold medal,” she said.

“I just love running.”

The three girls thanked their families and coach Mark Penman, as well as the following businesses and individuals for their support: