RANT N' ROAR - FINAL EDITION

After 18 wonderful days spent in the Niagara region for the 2022 Canada Summer Games, we want to use one more Rant N Roar Edition to reflect back on some of our favorite TeamNL Moments. 

Four of the eight athletes who make up Team NL Tennis team are not only linked by the love of the sport, but also family connections. They are all first cousins, with their mothers being sisters. Teammates Aiden (19) and Liam Drover Mattinen (17) are brothers, and Julia (15) and Peter Drover-Crane (13) are sister and brother.

They all started playing tennis at 3 at Greenbelt Tennis Club. Aiden and Liam took the elite route. At 12 they were invited into Tennis Canada programs and played tournaments in Austria, France, and the United States. 

Most recently Aiden plays varsity tennis at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. You can find the long list of his Division III National Rookie of the Year accomplishments here! 

Liam is a Canadian National U16 Champion, U18 Double champion and has represented Canada at the Junior Davis Cup in Turkey in 2021. He has been a finalist and winner of several ITF tournaments this year. Liam is also a top three finalist for Sport Newfoundland and Labrador’s Junior Male Athlete of the Year for 2022, which was announced on July 29, 2022.

Julia has played tennis at the provincial and Atlantic level. As well as tennis she is very involved in the arts community in NL as a member of Shallaway Youth Choir, a member of Holy Heart of Mary’s Performing Arts program and Mainstage Theatre Company, and well as a performer in many local musical theatre performances.

Peter plays tennis at the provincial and Atlantic level. He is also an avid soccer player who plays PYL for CBS strikers and was a member of the U13 NLSA team who won gold at this year’s Atlantic championships.

These familial connections are made all the stronger because they have grown up within the tennis sports community. It’s just so amazing!

On August 10th, Chef de Mission, Gary Martin, was presented with a drum handmade by a local Indigenous artist to honor Newfoundland and Labrador and our Indigenous people, the Inuit, Innu, and the Mi'kmaq.  

"I was grateful and appreciative of the ability to attend a Drum Art Presentation at Niagara Place today as Canada Summer Games continues to celebrate its cultural respect with the 13 for 13 Festival. I was presented with a drum alongside a representative who stood in for Mayor of Lincoln, Sarah Easton, our paired Niagara municipality", said Gary, after the presentation. 

Team Newfoundland and Labrador athletes topped their provincial medal count in the first week of competition at the 2022 Canada Summer Games making coaches, family, and fans across the province proud. Team NL swimming athletes achieved a record-breaking number of medals in the pool, one gold, five silver, and two bronze medals. Swimmers Chris Weeks, Thomas Pelley, and Nate Luscombe had amazing swimming achievements at the Eleanor Misener Aquatics Centre.

Chris Weeks, who captured Team NL’s first gold medal at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, won three medals in various male swimming events – including winning his 50-metre butterfly race with a time of 24:53 for a new Canada Games Record. Thomas Pelley won three medals in various male Special Olympics swimming events. Nate Luscombe won two medals in various para male swimming events, including a bronze medal on Day One of the 2022 Canada Summer Games, a first for Team NL.

When asked how it has felt to achieve so much success in the pool at the Canada Games in multiple races, knowing that this is a first for Team NL for Week One competition, Chris Weeks said “It feels great. I am very proud to represent our province at such a high level. It feels amazing to show off what Team NL has to offer.” His teammate, Nathan Luscombe, had much the same to say, “It is quite surreal. I feel quite proud. I get to see my hard work pay off.” And, Thomas Pelley also reiterated those feelings, saying “I feel really good. Winning medals is great for our province.”

Combined, these swimmers, have been competing for 17 years, and their discipline and athletic achievements have been recognized. “I am so very proud of the individuals for their extremely hard work over the past number of years and as well as that of their home programs. Chris Weeks has been a member of the Mount Pearl Marlins for 4 years, Thomas Pelley 7, and Nathan Luscombe has been with the Gander Lakers for 4 years as well as the Grand Falls Windsor Gators for 2 years previous to that. It takes a village, working together, to make progress like this, families, swimmers, coaches, teammates, and swim clubs. The effort goes far and beyond the Canada Games, and I expect this is just the start of fabulous swimming careers for these fine athletes,” said Coach Duffy Earle.

For Duffy, she goes on to say that the Games have "been an exciting and uplifting experience for not only our teammates and coaches who are a part of Team NL, but for our entire swimming community. These swimmers have raised the bar for all sports in our province at a National level. Canada Games has been a great platform to display the quality of swimmers we have in Newfoundland and Labrador. Swimming should be a highlight of the 2025 Games in NL.”

For more information, see the press release.

August 14th was a travel day to Niagara for our Week 2 athletes, with our athletics, road cycling, diving, golf, sailing, volleyball, female soccer, and male softball athletes arriving to compete at the 2022 Canada Summer Games. It was another busy week with 143 athletes, 33 coaches and managers, and 12 mission staff in the region.

Our diving team arrived at the satellite village at Humber College. Merrick Noel, our solo diver, began his competition at the Etobicoke Olympium before making his way to Brock later in the week to finish off competition. 

We are excited for them to begin their competitions!

Representing Newfoundland and Labrador as part of Team NL at a Canada Games event is an accomplishment of athletic ability, skill, and determination that many athletes aspire to in their sports careers. For a lot of athletes competing at this year’s Canada Games it is their first Games, but there are a few athletes who have competed in multiple Games and are not new to competing against the best amateur athletes in the country. Athletes Zach Gosse, Teghan Byrne, Ella Mate, Mark Power, and Ava Djan-Chékar, competing with this year’s rowing team, have all been to previous Games.

Zach is currently competing in his third Canada Games, having previously been to Winnipeg in 2017 and Red Deer in 2019. He competed in rowing for his first Games, his next gymnastics, and has returned to rowing for the 2022 Games. For Zach, he “is having as good an experience as his last two” this time around.

Ella is also competing in her third Canada Games as part of this year’s rowing team. Like Zach, she competed in Winnipeg and Red Deer, following the same path by switching between sports, first rowing, then artistic swimming, and back to rowing. Her reasoning for wanting to be part of Team NL at multiple games competitions is simple, “to race for my province and compete at a national competition.”

Ella goes on to say that her experience with the 2022 Games has been great because the current women’s team is much more competitive and being on site at the athlete’s village site rather than at a satellite location like previous years has been great.

Fellow teammates Teghan Byrne, Mark Power, and Ava Djan-Chékar have much the same sentiments with saying that this Games experience has been better than their last since they get more of the full Games experience by being on site.

For Teghan, who is competing in her second Games here in Niagara, competed in the 2019 Winter Games with artistic swimming. She just likes the competitive atmosphere of the Games which is why she wanted to return.

Mark competed in one other Games with rowing in 2017, and hopeful that with more training under his belt, he can do better this time around. Like Mark, Ava has also competed previous in the 2017 Games but for diving and said that “being at Games this year with a much bigger and more competitive team has been a completely different experience that I love.”

Being able to have multiple Games experiences is impressive, and looking forward to the future, all four athletes said they could see themselves return to the Games as mission staff. Ava said, “it’s because she’d love to see the games from a different perspective.”

Photo Credit: Nancy Boese, Canada Games photographer.

Team NL had many memorable experiences and amazing achievements in our best overall performance at a Canada Games. Team NL waited for the Closing Ceremony to begin at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls. Athletes, coaches and managers, and support staff gathered, took group photos, and enjoyed the backdrop of the most stunning display of nature.

Team NL was led by flag bearer and para-athlete Cori Hicks as part of a “Parade of Teams” as they walked to the concert area across from the falls to say goodbye to the Games and to Niagara. The evening included great music and the traditional handover of the Official Canada Games Flag, paying tribute to the next Canada Games that will be taking place just six months from now in PEI. The closing ceremonies were the perfect ending to a fabulous Games!

Everyone had a wonderful time, made lasting friendships with athletes from across the country, and had fun at the 2022 Niagara Canada Summer Games! Thank you to family, friends, and fans both here in Niagara and at home for your support. Our athletes have made us proud! See you in six months for the 2023 PEI Canada Winter Games!