RANT N' ROAR - DAY TEN
Chef's Corner
Last night it was a beautiful, picturesque evening as Team NL mission staff gathered at the Rowing Alumni Association Clubhouse with our friends from Team Sask, Team Quebec, and Team Yukon. As a fun interactive activity, we challenged everyone to gather up items that they could find amongst their personal effects as part of a scavenger hunt. It was a lot of fun and a few people managed to find all of the items on the list. Taking time out to attend the mission night was a great way to relax after a great first week in Niagara.
In my previous editions of Rant N’ Roar’s “Chef’s Corner”, I have shown my appreciation for week one mission staff and athletes, coaches, managers, and support staff. Here, I’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all the media outlets back home and here in Ontario for your support and excellent coverage of Team NL’s successes and our athletes. We are proud of our athletes, and I am very grateful for your coverage.
Once again, our athletes had a busy start to week two. I was able to take some time today to check out athletics, soccer, and diving. Tomorrow, I am looking forward to taking in some volleyball and softball.
Volleyball (Female) opens competition with a win
Our Team NL Women's Volleyball Team opened up competition this morning with a 3-0 win against Team Nunavut at Canada Games Park. Our ladies were firing on all cylinders from the opening serve. Big hits, big blocks, and lots of excellent team play.
The team is back in action tomorrow with games against Team Yukon and Team Prince Edward Island at 11:00 am and 6:00 pm, respectively. Both games will be played at Canada Games Park. A shoutout to our Men's Volleyball Team for getting out to show their support.
Softball (Male) have close first game
Male softball opened the games up with a match against Ontario, this one was close up until the 5th inning when Ontario broke it open for 7 runs. Marcus Pittman started on the mound for team NL while John Webber came on later in relief.
Male softball were back on the field against Team British Columbia in the evening, losing a close one with a score of 3-2. Team NL had their chances to tie it up in the 7th but a line drive was snagged by the BC pitcher that led to a double play to end the game. Mitch Whelan started on the mound for team NL with Marcus Pittman coming in for relief. Ryan Maher had a couple of hits for NL. NL will look to pick up a must win tomorrow morning at 10:00 am (EST) versus Team New Brunswick followed by a 2:15 pm (EST) tilt versus NS.
Golfers meet up with Chippewa Chippers on course
The golf team had a great day practicing and seeing the golf course at Niagara on the lake for the first time today. Monday was their first practice round, and they had another practice round scheduled for today before the tournament's first round on Wednesday. The golf course is a nice mix of links style holes as well as some holes lined by mature trees, it is in beautiful condition and the team are excited to get going in the tournament.
What a wonderful experience for our golfers. They were met by the Chippewa Chippers of Niagara North on the second tee of the practice round. This group of Special Olympics athletes were thrilled to join in on the play with our golfers.
Volleyball (male) players
The male volleyball team started their day cheering on the girls as they defeated Nunavut this morning. They regrouped for a light practice and stretch midday and then hit the court at Canada Games Park for their first game at 4:00 pm. They played Team Yukon and took them in 4 sets. The boys played hard and had some fantastic blocks and hits.
Family, friends, volleyball ladies, and mission staff cheered them on during the exciting match. They play again tomorrow at 4pm against Team Nunavut.
rowers take to boats for the day
Team NL rowing completed another day of practice spins and fine tuning the boats in preparation for the heats starting tomorrow.
Diver competes in first artistic event
Merrick Noel opened competition today at the Etobicoke Olympian competing in the 3 metre artistic event. This is his first event. He competed well and has settled in at the satellite village at Humber College. He will return to the diving board tomorrow morning in the 3 metre.
Merrick is looking forward to joining the rest of Team NL later this week as diving moves to compete at the Brock University-Eleanor Misener Aquatics Centre.
Road Cyclists hold first competiton day
Our male and female road cycling teams were ready to compete today for the Individual Time trials located in the Town of Wainfleet.
There was lots of cheers and support from the crowd as all of Team NL left the gates and crossed the finish line. Every athlete had a great competition day and showed that all of their training to date is paying off.
They have a training day for the road race tomorrow, and are back competing in the road race on Thursday at the Town of Pelham.
Athletics have good day at the track
Grace Mack competed in heat two of the women’s 1500 metre, achieving a 9 second personal best, breaking the U18 provincial record.
The women’s 4x100m relay team, Cheryl Butler, Olivia Ryan, Stephanie Pelley, and Shae LeDevehat, ran in heats today, making the A-final on Friday.
Overall, a very good day. Almost every athlete achieved personal best performances.
Soccer (Female) plays great game
The Team NL Female Soccer Team played a great game against Team Nova Scotia. After the first half it was a tied 0-0 tie but ended up losing the game with a score of 2-0.
They kept great defensive shape and marked Team Nova Scotia tightly. Goalie Shannon Galway of St. John’s made several great saves throughout the game!
Team Nova Scotia opened the scoring at the 42-minute mark and scored late to seal the victory. Team Newfoundland and Labrador plays Team New Brunswick tomorrow.
