National Skaters Steal The Show

rbert

A Day Where the Skaters Stole the Show

Floor Hockey – The Floor Hockey Team took to the court bright and early this morning against Team Manitoba. They ran into a tough squad, they played their hardest but came up short with a tough 7-1 loss. In the afternoon they took on Team Ontario in an exciting match. Team Nova Scotia was in a tough back and forth second division game of the day. After talking with the team, there spirits are still high and are excited to see what Thursday will bring them. Team Nova Scotia will wrap up the division’s games against Team New Brunswick tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon they will be placed in their final divisions and start the round robin play.
Speed Skating – The speed skaters kicked off their 2016 National Winter Games with a BANG! The National Games Veteran Downtown Phil Brown skated to an exciting bronze in the 1500m. Abbey Stapleton stole the hearts of everyone in the crowd and won two bronze medals in the 111m and 333m races today. Aimee Gordon had a great day on the ice, she was able to capture silver in the 500m race and sneak out a bronze in the 333m. To wrap up Team Nova Scotia’s flag bearer Robert Burchell was able to win the Gold in the 500m finals and a bronze in the 333m final. Tomorrow is the last day for speed skating where they look to continue their success on the ice.
Curling – They had a great day of divisioning against Sault Ste Marie, Alberta, Kingston, Manitoba and New Brunswick. The will be placed into divisions tomorrow morning and will start their round robin games and their quest for GOLD!
Cross Country – It was a beautiful day up at Blow Me Down ski club, the course was in tremendous shape and the Nova Scotia skiers were ready to take on the competition. The team had the opportunity to ski in two different divisions races. Tim Prosser, Eileen Prosser, and James Dowling took to the nicely groomed track in the 100m and 500m divisioning races. They had a great day on the course and all had great times. Tomorrow will bring the finals of the 100m and 500m for all three athletes.
Snowshoe – Snowshoe had a great day of divisioning. They all put up excellent times and their year of training is evident on the course. Tomorrow the snowshoe competition will wrap up the final divisioning races in the morning. In the afternoon snowshoers will have their first shot at medals where Emily Latta, Brianna Harris, and Nikitia Penney will compete in the 200m finals.
Figure Skating – Kaylie and Robert started the day off with their individual singles practice, followed by their pairs practice. Robert and Kaylie competed in their first event at the National Games where a medal was in play. They skated a flawless gold medal performance in front of Team Nova Scotia. Tomorrow Robert will cheer on Kaylie as she competes in Solo dance.

Highlight of the Day

Robert Burchell followed up his flag bearer duties of leading Team Nova Scotia into the opening ceremonies and kept the trend going by leading his team to a double medal performance. In front of a packed house which included Roberts’s two brothers who traveled from Cape Breton and Ontario to watch him compete. He skated to a gold in the 500m finals and to a bronze in the 333m finals. Roberts continued dedication to the Special Olympics is truly inspiring; he is the oldest athlete on Team Nova Scotia as well as one of the longest-serving athletes in Special Olympics Nova Scotia history. We know that the family, friends, supporters and the entire town of New Waterford will be behind Robert when he takes to the ice tomorrow to skate in the 222m finals and the 777m finals. We wish Robert the best of luck tomorrow as well as all of Team Nova Scotia’s athletes a continued success.