EVENT AND COMPETITION SCHEDULE
RANT N' ROAR - DAY THREE
TEAM NL'S WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL HAS A FAMILY FEEL IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Part 2
The wheelchair basketball team features players from both Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia who came together in 2022. The roster also includes three sets of siblings and a mother and son duo.
One of those pairs of siblings is Julia and Kayla MacKinnon. The twins are from Dartmouth, N.S. and are competing in their second Canada Games together after competing for Nova Scotia in 2019.
“I love playing with Kayla because I always have a partner to practice with, someone to encourage me, and motivate me,'' said Julia. “Due to Kayla's disability we were never able to participate in sports together. wheelchair basketball has given us an opportunity we never thought we'd have. I still feel that this is a great change to be active with Kayla, but I also think its a great opportunity for us to spend time together as this time in our lives is so busy.”
“My sister Julia joined a year after I did, which has been a great experience for both of us. We had never been able to compete in sports together in the past and now we have had so many amazing experiences since joining, added Kayla. “We have traveled around Canada together playing, and on the court, we have always had someone to motivate us and to train with. This sport has been special to me because it has given me a sense of community and it has brought me and my sister closer.”
Story provided to us by Alex Kennedy. You can find Alex on twitter @AlexKennedyNL
Another pair of siblings are Jack and Elliot Sampson. Jack is representing Newfoundland and Labrador after competing with Team Nova Scotia at the Canada Games in 2019, while Elliot is competing in his first Canada Games this winter.
“I started playing wheelchair basketball twelve years ago with Elliot. He lost interest after a few years, but I've been playing since then,” said Jack. “The last time Elliot and I were both on the same sports team was when we played hockey together 14 years ago. Now we have a chance to play together again in the next Canada games, and I am excited to show off how well we play together.”
“The best perk of playing with my brother, is that after basketball, we ride home in the car together and discuss what went well and what we can work on,” said Elliot. “This helps us for when we play on the court together, it helps build chemistry between us, we know where each other are and what each other’s tendencies are.
Story provided to us by Alex Kennedy. You can find Alex on twitter @AlexKennedyNL
Chef's Corner
Our first day of competition ended with some tough losses and rewarding wins! We look forward to seeing gymnastics (men’s artistic and trampoline), karate and wheelchair basketball begin competition today. To our athletes, I know you will continue to focus on only those things for which you have control and remember doing your best, nothing less is all that is expected of you.
Premier Furey was again very busy making sure to get to as many events as possible before he left today. He told me he was impressed with the level of competition and very much enjoyed meeting the athletes, coaches and managers. I want to thank the Premier for the invite to the breakfast he hosted yesterday for all visiting Team NL supporters. I, along with Assistant Chefs Gary and Jamie, and Mission Staff members Allison, Jamie, and Paul, very much appreciated the opportunity to take part.
Please remember to take every opportunity to thank all of the wonderful volunteers as you enter and exit the various venues each day. These people give freely of their time to ensure you have the best experience at these Games!
Female curling team takes it to extras
The NL Ladies Curling Team played an incredible game today as they battled Team Ontario only to lose in an extra end 6-5.
The game had spectators on the edge of their seats as teams traded the lead many times throughout the game!
It was a well played match with some great shots made by both teams! Despite the close loss, it was very special to see the positive attitude of all 4 NL players immediately following the game.
They are certainly proving to be great ambassadors for Team NL,
as well as for the curling association they represent back home!
wheelchair basketball team takes on new brunswick in opener
Team NL played hard against New Brunswick in their first game! Their teamwork and camaraderie makes it hard to believe that the team is divided among 2 provinces with an ocean between them. The game started strong as they scored the first basket and the team spirit remained throughout the game. New Brunswick may have taken the win at 59-29 but Team NL took the hearts of the two provinces cheering them on.
Be sure to join them tomorrow as they take on team Quebec!
Photo is Copyright of Philip Matusiewicz
male Hockey improves to 2-0
Our Male Hockey Team picked up their second win this morning with 9-1 win over the Northwest Territories. Carter Bromley had a deuce in the win while Captain Will Carroll, Patrick Lambe, Jack Marnell , Jabez Seymour and ‘Bob’ aka Ben O’Brien scored their firsts of the tournament in the win. Brody Harnum and Mason Strong rounded out the scoring. Carter Arnold started and played the full 60 minutes. The defence had another solid outing helping to limit NWT to 17 shots on goal.
This sets up Pool C's big matchup tonight at 8pm NL time verses the host Team PEI in Summerside at Credit Union Place.
Squash Individual competition concludes today
TeamNL finished up their individual competition today after Sophie Tulk dropped her match to high seeded Team Ontario's Ashley Hall. After winning a few hard-earned points, the game ended 0-3.
The athletes are looking forward to the team competition which begins Wednesday. In the meantime, they'll be cheering on TeamNLs Male Hockey team this evening, and will be getting around PEI cheering on more teams tomorrow.
Speed skating has a fast day at the rink
Mere minutes from PEI's picturesque National Park, North Rustico hosts the short-track speed skating for the 2023 Canada Games.
Today was the first day of competition, with Team NL's Noah Bolton competing in two events: 1500m and 500m. Unfortunately, Noah didn't make it out of the 1500m quarterfinals. For the 500m--best described as NASCAR on skates--Noah made it out of his heat and will compete in the bottom bracket semi-final on Thursday.
Noah is the speed demon in the blue helmet (#2).
IMG_2360.MOVKarate athletes showing great form
Today, two of our Kata athletes, Alexander Hollett and Jane Fancy represented our province of NL well with great performances. Jane made history and opened up the competition as the first ever Karate athlete to compete in a Canada Games! This was something that definitely added a level of stress to her competition but she adapted well and represented both Newfoundland and Labrador and the sport of Karate with pride!
Alexander had a great performance as well. He made it past the preliminary round, beating Northwest Territories, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to move to the elimination round. Unfortunately, he was knocked out of medal contention by Saskatchewan by a point differential of 0.64, a very close match. He finished 6th overall in a division of 13. We look forward to cheering on Jack Noftall tomorrow during Day 2 with the start of the Kumite Competitions.
Tonight we will be attending a hockey game to cheer on other athletes from our province, NL vs PEI! Go Team NL!
Biathlon team puts in the work despite wet weather
Monday was a day to stay inside for most people, but the athlete’s were not afraid. They suited up, warmed up and competed in the midst of a small rain storm (>10 mm of rain in one report!)! This was their first taste of official completion at these games. The men raced a 7.5km sprint and the women raced a 6.0 km sprint. Each race featured 2 shooting bouts and allows the top skiers to shine!
Though they did not medal, the athletes were proud of their efforts. They are regrouping and looking forward to the 10km (mens) and 7.5km (womens) pursuit race on Tuesday. This race will have 4 shooting bouts and is setup in a “catch the leader” format. The winner of the sprint starts first and the order of finish in the sprint dictates the order of start for this race (5 second interval). The Pursuit is normally the most exciting format of all the Biathlon races to watch and the easiest to follow, because you know the standing instantly! The pursuit allows the shooters to excel and this race is often won because of marksmanship...
See you at the range on Tuesday…
Men's Artistic gymnastics kick off competition
Today the men competed in Team Final. Everyone put in awe-inspiring performances and Gabe Flynn, Will Osmond and Tyler Gosse earned spots in the Mens All Around Finals later this week. Good luck guys!
The female team were on site cheering hard and will compete in Subdivision 3 tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you out there!
TRAMPOLINE ATHLETES SOAR IN THE STANDINGS
Our Female Synchronized Trampoline duo, Megan and Gwen, earned their right to compete in the finals this evening, qualifying in first place after the mornings qualifying round. They gave it everything they had with a large contingent of fans in the stands and finished in fourth place, and improvement over the teams 5th place performance in 2019. We were so happy to see your performance and are extremely proud of your accomplishment!!
Our male duo, Gleb and Ben, also competed in the Synchronized event, coming up a little short in the qualifying round. They put in a great effort and are getting ready to compete in the singles event later in the week.
Table Tennis Doubles end on a high note
Team NL had a fantastic showing today for Table Tennis. Carter and Peter had an impressive 5th place finish overall in the Male Doubles category going 4-2. That is an impressive improvement over the 9th place finish by TeamNL 4 years ago in Red Deer. Ciela and Divine placed 6th place overall in the Female Doubles event with a record of 1-4. Again, and impressive improvement from 2019's 8th place finish.
The Female team began Team Competition late this evening, with the Male Team joining in for matchups at the PEI Convention Centre tomorrow.
Men's Hockey team
moves to 3-0
moves to 3-0
A big crowd came out to support the home province, but a penalty 19 seconds into the game put them down a man, and Ty Peddigrew silenced the fans 23 seconds later to make it 1-0. They would never relinquish that lead, ending with a 7-1 win to move them to 3-0 in the tournament. Jabez Seymour had himself a strong game with a pair of goals. Jacob Coish notched his first Canada Games goal. Mason Strong continued with the hot hand notching a PP marker while Ben O’Brien had a nifty goal from a tough angle. While the score may have been 7-1, Donald Hickey was rock solid in the pipes when called upon including 3 spectacular saves in the third period. The Defence continued to keep it simple and had another solid outing.
Next up for team NL is Gavin Mckenna and the Yukon , 8pm (NST) at Credit Union Place.