Out of the frying pan ...
Team NWT ready to roll for Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Monday, July 31, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An already busy summer for some of the city's athletes has just got a whole lot busier.
Deanne Whenham, fresh off her gold medal at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto, will be back on the links at the Canada Summer games in Winnipeg, which begin this evening. - Sarah Pruys/Team NWT photo
|
With the North American Indigenous Games wrapping up in Toronto last Saturday, the focus now turns to the Canada Summer Games. The event got underway Friday night in Winnipeg with the opening ceremony.
Team NWT has a total of 136 athletes, coaches, mission staff and managers among its ranks. A good part of the team hails from Yellowknife and they are already in game shape having competed in Toronto.
Bill Othmer is chef de mission for Team NWT this time around and he said the mission statement for the athletes is simple.
"The goal of our team is to compete with dignity, strive for personal best performances and represent the NWT with pride and integrity," he said. "Some athletes will view these Games as the pinnacle of their athletic career and for others, it will be a stepping stone in the pursuit of excellence within their sport."
That last line from Othmer rings true as several of this country's top athletes have used the Canada Games program as a launching pad into bigger and better things, such as Sidney Crosby, Hayley Wickenheiser and Steve Nash.
The Games are a two-week event, meaning some sports will be up this week and other sports starting up on Aug. 7 for week two.
Track and field is one sport which will kick off in week one and Lance Dizon will be there, the lone Yellowknife athlete on the team.
He said he's hoping to make a final in either of his events, the 100 and 200-metre, and he plans to run as fast as he can.
"The important thing is not to psych myself out," he said.
Dizon was in Sherwood Park, Alta., this past weekend competing at the Alberta Outdoor Track and Field Championships and raced in the same events he'll be lining up for in Winnipeg.
He said it was good to get into the finals for both but winning wasn't the real goal.
"I wanted to play it safe," he said. "I didn't want to risk any injuries before going to Winnipeg."
As mentioned, some athletes are going into the Canada Summer Games already set to go and one of those is Deanne Whenham, fresh off her gold medal performance at NAIG.
She said winning gold at NAIG was an amazing feeling but the Canada Summer Games is a whole new ball game.
"I know it's going to be a lot tougher in Winnipeg because it's the best girls in the country playing," she said. "All I can do is practice and be as ready as I can be."
Track and field, basketball and girls soccer are up in week one followed by boys soccer, boys and girls indoor volleyball and tennis for week two. Watch for updates from Winnipeg in future editions of Yellowknifer.
