Summer Snapshot: the Summer Games

The deep red and gold maple leaves are falling across Ontario and here in Nova Scotia the cold autumn rain chills to the bone.  It has been many months since my first post to this blog – many months of training, competing, packing, moving and now studying.  This is the first of a couple of “what I did over my summer holidays” notes to bring you up to date.

Currently, I’m in Halifax, Nova Scotia attending Dalhousie University in the Arts & Social Sciences department.  After a gap year in Miami training and competing, it’s back to the books… More on Dal later.

By far the highlight of the summer was representing Ontario in the Laser Radial at the Canada Summer Games held in Sherbrooke, Quebec in August.  On a crystal clear Sherbrooke night against a backdrop of the Apalachian Mountains, the Opening Ceremonies August 1 were a thrill.  The entire contingent from Ontario was decked out in our white, black and red Team O gear. We marched into the Sherbrooke University Stadium amidst cheers, music and lots of Ontario flags, a really unique experience. All the teams looked amazing decked out in their team gear, they looked so good I made sure I swapped a few shirts for some of that team gear before I left.

The 5 days of sailing on Petit Magog provided as much variability as one could want sailing on a mountain lake.  We had winds ranging from 0-5 knts one day and 15-20 knts two days later. A small mountain lake, Petit Magog never offered high seas or even a rolling wave but there was lots of chop, shifts and bouncing gusts.  (Toronto Harbour had provided a great training ground with its main street gusts and shifty conditions.)  And there was great competition.  We were 8 radials with representation across the country missing only the 3 territories, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland/Labrador.  The athlete venue was located at the tiny and friendly Petit Magog Sailing Club, while the spectator venue was across the lake at a park.  As a sailing venue it was a unique experience in that bleachers had been set up for viewing and the starting line for the northern of the 2 courses was about 100 metres off the bleachers.

For me the competition was frustrating from Day 1 when my 1^st and 2^nd place finishes only resulted in a DSQ and OCS.  The rest of the week was an uphill battle to drop those 18 points, not an easy feat with only 8 boats competing.  When it was all over, I was pleased to bring home not only a bronze medal for Ontario, but also what felt like a lifetime of experiences.  I made new friends across the country and enjoyed sharing their victories and lamenting their losses in a variety of sports.  A huge shout-out to our coaches for the Games, Chris Hewson and Emily Hill and our Chef de Mission, Steve Jarvis. Chris and Emily kept us keen and focused while Steve kept all the logistics in line – including a few extra trading pins and tickets.

Here at Dalhousie, I’m surprised how many Games shirts and team gear from across Canada I see on campus.  The only problem is, the team gear was swapped, traded and bartered for feverishly and the guy in my Psychology 1000 class whose hoodie says Yukon could just as likely be from Manitoba.  All in all it was a fantastic experience and one for which I am very grateful.