Upcoming Events for March 23, 2017
● We’ve got a busy day at the arena, with lots happening in figure and speed skating, including;
● Final routines for levels 3 – 6 ice dance, ladies and men.
● 8 speed skaters take to the track today in the 500m finals
● Up in the mountains, the alpine team is gearing up for all levels of slalom finals.
● Cross country skiers will be divisioning for the 2.5 km classic and free, as well as the finals for the 500m free.
● Snowshoers will be competing in the 4 x 400m relay finals and the 4 x 100m finals.
● After an intense day of games yesterday, both floor hockey East and West will get the day off to rest-up for the gold medal games tomorrow!
Highlights from March 22, 2017
● Floor hockey Team West won a 3-shift seed game 2-0 against Ukraine to determine the next match-up. Team West then handily won their second game of the day 14-0 against Mexico.
● Floor hockey Team East played Costa Rica and won 7-1, scoring their first two goals in the early minutes of the game.
● Both East and West go on to the gold medal games in their divisions on Friday.
● Alpine had a foggy but good day on the slopes completing divisioning for Slalom.
● On the cross-country ski track, Elouise Stewart won gold in the 1km race, while the ladies in the 4 x 1km race continued the momentum with another gold in the top division.
● Stephen Graham won a bronze medal in speedskating in the 1500m race, while Sarah Albers won Silver in the 222m.
● Snowshoer Sebastien Hamel-Bordeau now holds the Special Olympics record in the 5km distance with a time of 21.55.90. Fellow teammates Crystal Young and Renee Pelletier each earned themselves a medal in the 5km as well, gold and silver respectively.
● Snowshoeing athletes had an excellent showing in the 100m race with the following results awarded just this evening: 3 gold (Peter Snider, Janet Charchuck, Chrissy Peters), 1 silver (Tony Wilkinson), and 3 bronze (Julien Cardinal-Moffet, Darren Boryskavich, Floressa Harris).
Interesting Facts
● Chris Anderson of floor hockey Team West has moved into a better living situation since he approached his coaches asking for help. Knowing he could rely on coaches for stability, direction, and support showed just how much being involved with Special Olympics and having a new support system has helped change his life for the better.
● All three competitors in the 5km snowshoe race, Sebastien Hamel-Bourdeau, Crystal Young, and Renee Pelletier, were not only the only competitors in the race but they also all beat their personal bests!