‘Really exciting:’ Team Sask. ready for Canada Winter Games

Saskatchewan’s athletes are primed and ready to go for the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

The games start Saturday in Prince Edward Island, and this will be the first Canada Winter Games held since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last event was held in Red Deer in 2019.

“The Saskatchewan athletes have been looking forward to this opportunity,” said Mark Bracken, Team Saskatchewan’s chef de mission.

“Really exciting times for our province and for sport in the province.”

In total, 217 athletes from 60 different communities around the province will be competing in the games, and Saskatchewan talent will be on display in all 21 sports. Some of the athletes have been training and anticipating this event for more than two years, Bracken said.

Bracken arrived in the eastern province earlier in the week to make sure everything was set up for the team members when they arrive on Friday at the athletes’ village.

“The event is very challenging, logistically, to put on, but P.E.I. has done a great job. Their volunteers are ready to go,” Bracken said.

He said the Saskatchewan organizers have been preparing for a year for the games, and have been in constant communication with coaches to ensure athletes can adjust to the two-hour time difference and be ready to compete at their best.

There are some athletes on the 2023 team who are familiar with the games, including Saskatchewan’s opening ceremony flag bearer Luca Veeman, a speed skater who was in Niagara six months ago cycling in the Canada Summer Games.

“The games were an incredible experience in the summer, and it’s pretty fun to be able to do two of them,” Veeman said.

Veeman said he tends to perform better on skates than on wheels.

“I’m much more competitive on the skating side,” he said.

But despite having better performances during the winter events, Veeman said it offers him a good mental break to switch to cycling during the summer months.

Veeman and every other athlete will be trying hard to get onto the podium during the two-week competition.

Bracken said Team Saskatchewan is aiming to finish in the top five among all provinces.

“It’s a challenge to compete against the Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Alberta, just due to their population and their huge number of registrations,” he said.

While Saskatchewan might not have the same population numbers, Bracken said the talent in the province’s athletes helps make up for it.

“We can compete toe-to-toe with the big provinces in a lot of sports,” he said.

Athletes typically aim for personal records while competing against the country’s best, Bracken noted.

The Canada Winter Games can be a springboard for these athletes to reach the Olympics in the future, Bracken said, and the experience is something they’ll never forget.

The opening ceremony will take place on Saturday, with the first day of competition set for Sunday. The games run until March 5.