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When
the opening ceremonies begin on August 15th in
Summerside
,
Prince Edward Island
it will mark the start of the 22nd Canada Games. The
games began in 1967 in
Quebec City
with a philosophy and motto of “Unity through Sport”
and continue to be a celebration of sport and culture.
The
Canada Games was the first national multi sport event ever held
in
Canada
. Throughout their existence the games have played an incredible
role in the development of many top international athletes such as
Steve Nash, Sidney Crosby and Katrina LeMay Doan.
The
Canada Games have not only played an important role in developing
individual athletes, but the games legacy has had a remarkable
impact on the sporting culture in the country. Sixteen communities
have hosted the Canada Games in the last 42 years and all have
benefited by having new sporting facilities built that would never
have otherwise; some of those include the St. John Canada Games
Aquatic Centre in
St. John
,
New Brunswick
and Hillside Stadium and Aquatic Centre in
Kamloops
,
BC
.
According
to
Swim
BC
’s Provincial Coach Vince Mikuska the multi sport aspect of
the Canada Games is very important for athletes’ preparation
for future events international events, but the multi sport
environment does pose unique challenges for his team to overcome,
“I think the experience of being in the multi sport
environment is huge.”
But,
“Distractions, you are staying in dorms with people who have
different schedules than you do, they are coming and going at times
when you don’t want to.”
“Once
we are locked into the swim meet we are in the swim meet. Other people may get the chance to play a
game and they can go and watch another game. Our kids don’t
normally get that opportunity. It is much more difficult for them
to get involved in the Team BC part of it to a large
extent.”
Another
big challenge for the 2009 team is the timing of the games. This
year the swimming competition will start on August 23rd
compared to 2005 when it began on August 11th. Because
of this fact Mikuska and his coaching staff have had to use a
little creativity when it comes to keeping the athletes motivated
and focused, “Because the games are so late this year we have
had a number of things that we have had to do to keep people
swimming.”
“For
example four years ago we had a three day staging camp, than we
were gone. This year we have the
US
Open (August 4th – 8th in
Seattle
) for most of the kids, than we go to
Kelowna
, than we go to the staging camp and then we go to the
games.”
Although
the timing of the games has presented a challenge the BC team has
turned into an opportunity, using the time they have together to
become a more cohesive unit leading into the competition.
The
Canada Games experience is offers an opportunity for swimmers to
experience something a little more special, competing against the
rest of the country in an effort to achieve one goal - to win,
“We are going to try to win. You always have to have winning
as your focus,” says Mikuska.
In the
past there have been several big names that have ended up on the
podium for
Team
BC
, Ralph Hutton (69), Leslie Cliff (69), Stephen Pickell (73), Gary
MacDonald (73) and most recently Ryan Cochrane (05) were all
medalists at both the Canada Games and the Olympic Games.
Will
that be the case at this year’s competition?
Going
into the meet the men’s team is
Team
BC
’s strength, Michael Cai (Hyack), Jeremy Bagshaw (Island),
Craig Dagnall (
Island
) and Nicholas Sinclair (UVPCS) are all going into the games ranked
in the top three in their respective events.
On the
girls side it will be a little tougher. Swimmers such as Katie
Caldwell have had some impressive performances in the meets leading
into the games, but the most important aspect of the women’s
contribution must come in having amazing swims in the
relays.
Mikuska and the rest of his coaching staff,
Mark Bottrill (Hyack), Neil Harvey (Island), Aaron Dahl (Island)
and Dorothy Story (Special Olympics Coach), will be undertaking a
tough task when facing teams from
Alberta
,
Ontario
and
Quebec
from August 23rd-28th.
To
follow BC swimmers go to
http://www.2009canadagames.ca/en/index.php for results of Canada Games swimming action.
For a
complete list of athletes competing go to
http://www.swimbc.ca/docs/CANADA%20GAMES%20Team%20Announcement.pdf
Winskill Dolphins are represented at the games
by Karyn Jewell. Karyn will swim
both the 1500m Freestyle and the 10km openwater race.
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