Under the backdrop of heavy falling snow, Special Olympics National Winter Games comes to a close and Team Nova Scotia prepares to celebrate the many successes the 51 members of #TeamNS has experienced over the last five days of competition.
Attending a National competition, specifically for athletes with an intellectual disability, brings with it many different facets of emotions, achievements and milestones. Each athlete on Team Nova Scotia, at each National Games, teaches us more and more about why this experience is so valuable to them and the families that choose to put them in Special Olympics.
At the sporting venues this week, some of our athletes faced some of the toughest competition since being selected to #TeamNS last year. For some, this experience pushed them to their athletic limits both physically and emotionally. There we tears of laughter and tears of defeat just as there were moments of jubilation and triumph. Each year, we watch with great pride as each of our athletes teach us over and over what it means to truly persevere in the spirit of ability not disability.
In each sport there we varying moments of success.
- Curling advanced to the gold medal game and after a tough competition ended the day with a silver medal for TeamNS.
- Floor Hockey faced some really tough competition this week to contend with while battling a rampant stomach virus that hit the team hard. Despite that, each of them truly enjoyed their first National Games experience.
- The Snow Shoe team added nine medals to the team count with seven gold and two silver and every athlete coming home with a medal. A star was identified in Brianna Harris as she showed us and the nation what can happen with training and dedication. She will bring home a gold medal in each of her three events.
- The Speed Skaters were treated to a truly Olympic experience during a Speed Skating Clinic with Catriona
LeMay Doan. Collectively the team added 11 medals to the Team count with two gold, three silver and six bronze. - Our two figure skating athletes – Kailey Stewart and Robert Fougere learned many new skills as they observed the level of competition presented during the week that prevented them from medalling in their individual competitions. This did not stop them from combining their talents to win gold in the Level 2 Pairs.
- The cross country ski team was small with only three members. Tim and Eileen Prosser, a husband and wife duo are not strangers to the National Team while James Dowling took in all the essences of his first games experience. Together they added five medals to the Team count with one in gold and four in silver.
Collectively, we would like to thank @cornerbrook2016 for being amazing hosts to us and our athletes. As one parent was overheard saying, “Every Canadian should have to spend a week here to truly understand what it means to be kind and wonderfully caring people.” We couldn’t agree more. Thank you Cornerbrook for an amazing experience.
We look forward to hosting our fellow athletes, coaches and volunteers as Nova Scotia hosts the 2018 National Summer Games!
To view our photos and results, please visit our National Games page.
