It was a banner day Monday for PEI athletes on the national stage.
The province recorded its first medal at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, courtesy of Alyssa Chapman. The Murray Harbour native overcame an injury last year that shortened her training time to take the gold medal in the Special Olympics solo dance event. She now joins a growing list of Islanders who have taken on the best the country has to offer in their sport and emerged on the medal podium. The Canada Games medal legacy started with Montague’s Bill MacKinnon, who won gold in athletics in 1969 and includes Kurt MacCormack of Souris who won a bronze in the triple jump before a home town crowd at UPEI during the 2009 summer games.
The same day at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown, the Suzanne Burt rink pulled off a major upset by downing the defending champions Team Canada rink in a game most curling fans probably gave them little chance of winning. That’s the thing about sports -- it is nowhere near an exact science. Just because a team or an individual may appear stronger on paper doesn't mean they will prevail on that particular day. If it did, competitive sports would be a pretty boring endeavour to watch and participate in.
As one of the smallest jurisdictions in the country, athletes from Team PEI knew long before the competition began they would not finish on top of the medal standings. However, events like the Canada Games are about much more than the final standings. They offer an opportunity to build friendships that can last a lifetime and about personal achievement.
Every athlete who wore the PEI colours during those two weeks will come home a winner because they put their best effort forward. Take the women’s hockey team for example. The squad, which includes Kristy Lanigan form Montague and Morell’s Emily vanDiepen, opened the competition with a 4-1 loss to Nova Scotia.
No doubt they were disappointed, but they were able to put the loss behind them. Just like Alyssa and the Suzanne Burt team, they too had something to celebrate Monday-- a 5-2 win over New Brunswick. Emily helped her team’s cause by picking up two assists.
Even if they are competing in an individual sport, no athlete reaches a competition like the Canada Games on their own. It takes a great deal of support and dedication from parents, coaches and the community. It takes co-operation and working towards shared goals. Those attributes will serve the athletes well no matter what they choose to do in the future.