There was only one competitor in action today for Team NL on the ski trails,  Jeremy Jones for the 2.5km interval start sit ski, but it was a complete team effort. All of our Cross Country team was out on the course cheering him on and waiting to congratulate him after completion of the race. Another amazing job by 5-time Canada Games veteran, Jeremy, on yet another blue bird day at Brookvale. 

Let’s keep our fingers crossed the weather holds for the rest of the week! The remaining skiers took the day as a light training/rest day and hope to catch some other sporting events before competition resumes tomorrow. Go Team NL!! 

Today was the final day of competition at the Judo venue for TeamNL. 7 athletes fought in 6 different divisions. Although we didn't make it to the medal round, competitors did pull off victories. The field was very tough and included many National and World Junior Champions, but Team NL fought their hardest. 

The coaching staff is very proud of their efforts. They did the province proud! We also want to say a big thanks to Trent Pennel, our mission staff. You've been awesome! The team is now looking forward to getting out and cheering on Team NL in other sports. Go NL!

Our Male Curling Team lost 4-2 in a close game against Team MB this afternoon. 

They curled well in the first half. With a few unfortunate bounces team MB posted a few early steals. TeamNL held strong despite being down 3 and managed a deuce in the 5th end. With a blanketed 6th, our boys held MB to a single in the 7th when a steal was looking good.

Though they had the hammer in the 8th, the hard hitting MB team ran the boys out out of rocks. 

Looking forward to tomorrow, TeamNL has the morning bye. Our male curlers will be back in action during the 2 pm afternoon draw with a must-win matchup against Team QC at the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex.

Our TeamNL Badminton and Snowboard teams both had the day off of competition today. They each were scheduled for training sessions and are fine tuning for the end of their competition week. Team NL Snowboard trained for boarder cross and big air today. Conditions were perfect in every way. The sun was shining and the snowpack was hard and fast. After a technical slide through with Canada Snowboard staff, the whole team was whipping down the course. All athletes will compete in the Canada Games boarder cross event tomorrow. Snow is in the forecast overnight so check the schedule often for updates. 

Badminton is back in action tomorrow as the Team Competition begins at 9am at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre at the UPEI Campus. 

NL had a fantastic day at Crabbe Mountain, there were 70 athletes representing 11 provinces across Canada. 

3 male athletes successfully finished the two run race, Issac Buckingham, Tyler Dillman and Philip Dawe Finnish run 27th, 35th & 40th place! Their placements amongst others in Atlantic Canada were 6th, 9th, 12th out of 18 males. 

The female pool consisted of 67 athletes. While all athletes put in solid efforts,  only Katie Colbourne was able to finish the two challenging runs. 

A HUGE thank you to ALL the volunteers at Crabbe for hosting an amazing event! 

The girls hit this ice this morning for a light skate and then had a team meeting where the coaches showed some video footage in preparation for their qualification game this evening. 

Team NL played TeamNB at Credit Union Place in Summerside this evening which is the first time they have played in this arena. The players, fans and coaching staff were both excited and nervous for the big game. While the first period was scoreless, Hilary Taylor put NL on the scoreboard in the second period. The score was 1-0 for Team NL going into the third. Team NB snuck in two goals in the third period. Despite their effort and determination, Team NL came out short with a final score of 2-1 for NB. 

They will play a final placement game tomorrow afternoon. 

TeamNL Men’s Boxing crew spent the early part of the day visiting the Canada Games House. They also found time to visit the Judo venue to show their support to our other TeamNL athletes! 

Tonight Riley Yetman fought a boxer from Team Alberta in the 63.5kg class.  The fight went the distance with Riley losing a decision. The Canada Games experience is now over for Riley but his memories with last forever. Well done!

Mike Gosine fighting in the 75kg weight class fought a TeamNS boxer later on the card. The fight was a hard fough 3 rounds, Mike winning it decisively .

Mike will fight again on Friday night needing a victory for an opportunity to go for Bronze.

Maddox Glover skated his way to a Gold medal in the Special Olympics Male Singles Level II event with a strong program filled with fast spins, solid jumps and great musicality. It is inspiring to see Maddox stand atop the podium accepting his gold medal! We are so proud of Maddox’s outstanding achievement as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Special Olympian skaters on our Canada Games Team. 

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Mark Butt who celebrated his birthday on Thursday!

Pre-Novice Ice Dance team of Kaitlyn Smith/Dawson Smith performed a lively Free Dance which included difficult footwork, lifts and dance spins choreographed to a Grease Medley that had the audience clapping along as Kaitlyn and Dawson danced their way to a score of 34.49 in the Free Dance to finish in 8th place. 

Jonathan Flynn finished his Games in 10th place following a new Personal Best Score in his Pre Novice Men’s Free Program scoring 46.49 and a new over-all Personal Best Score of 70.12. Jonathan executed an entertaining program with a high degree of technical difficulty which included 3 double/double jump combinations and a full roster of double jumps throughout his program.

Adam Masek skated his way to a New Personal Best Score of 37.88 in the Pre Novice Men’s  Free Program which combined with his Short Program result gives him a final placement of 14th. On his way to a New Personal Best Score Adam improved Program Component Score along with his technical elements  which include a wide array of double jumps, and double/double combinations . 

It was a training day for Lily Evans and Mark Butt who scored a new Personal Best in their Short Program  are currently in 3rd place as they head into Friday’s Pre Novice Free Skate. Lily and Mark’s high-flying technical elements for the free program include a daring double twist, a throw double loop, throw double lutz and side-by-side double lutz in a jam-packed program which also includes difficult step sequences and spins. 

Pre Novice Women’s competitors Rachael Tuff and Jasmine Wheadon had a successful day of training and are eager to compete their Free Programs on Friday. Rachael and Jasmine are determined competitors with Free Programs that include a wide array of double and triple jumps, multi-position spins and exciting step sequences combined with intricate choreography.

4-month old Casey is our youngest skating fan at the Games! Casey, the daughter of Coach Jenna Hillyard is attending the Games with her Mom and Dad with the assistance of the Canada Games Nursing Mothers Policy which recognizes that caring for a nursing infant can be a barrier for mothers to participate in the Games. 

Happy Pride Day to all Games Participants!

For their second last game of the preliminary stage, TeamNL took on Team Quebec at the Montague Curling Club. A double in the 5th end brought the game 4 - 4 going down the stretch. With Team QC scoring 3 the next end, Kate and Sam couldn't get back the momentum, losing the draw 9 - 5.

After the loss, the regrouped and refocussed to go into the evening game vs a young YT team. A steal of 2 in 2 put TeamNL up 3 - 0 early. It was a boost of confidence they needed after some hard fought games this week. While the YT held their own and scored some points, ultimately, TeamNL came out on top 6 - 4. 

That puts them into a placement game tomorrow evening, again in Montague.