Ready for the Worlds
Three avid snowshoers from the South Shore are filled with anticipation after being chosen to represent Team Canada in the Special Olympics World Winter Games, tentatively scheduled for January 2022 in Kazan, Russia.
The trio – Colby Oickle and Michael Moreau, both of Liverpool, and Emily Latta of Bridgewater – are among 156 athletes who make up Team Canada. They’re the only athletes from Nova Scotia chosen for the international event. The athletes are slated to compete in the 100 metre, 200 metre and 4x100 metre relay.
“It’s going to be a big experience for me,” says Colby. “It’s going to be amazing.”
His father Vernon added:
“As parents, we’re excited for him, and both communities
(of Liverpool and Bridgewater) are very excited.”
The 2022 Worlds will be the first international event for all three snowshoers, but they’ve all had medal success in past provincial and national events, including the Special Olympics
Canada Winter Games, which took place in Thunder Bay, Ont. in February 2020. Their performance at the Winter Games, plus elements such as sportsmanship and enthusiasm, were factors in being chosen for the international games.
Of course, in a normal timeline, the trio of athletes would have already participated in the World Winter Games, as they were initially slated to head to the Winter Games in Sweden, for winter 2021. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which began only weeks after the Thunder Bay games, put an end to virtually all major sporting events. And a cloud remains over the 2022 games as well, as the pandemic continues to rage.
“All of this is contingent on COVID, and on things being loosened enough to go,” Vernon said. “But we can’t wait until the last minute to start training.”
The pandemic has affected how the athletes train and interact locally as well, with Colby admitting: “I miss training with the friends I made.”
Koby Latta is both father and coach to Emily, who has medalled in six national games.
“There really has been no team training, whatsoever,” for much of the past year, Koby said.
He added that, under normal circumstances, athletes would attend Special Olympics training camps as part of the run-up to the Worlds, but COVID-19 restrictions cancelled those camps. Athletes have been able to do some individual training like walking and weightlifting, and Special Olympics have also offered virtual training sessions.
But things are slowly coming back to normal, and the three World Games hopefuls are ramping up their training in earnest.
Betty Ann Daury, a Special Olympics volunteer for 33 years, has coached all three hopefuls for many years in both summer and winter sports. She says the plan is to have them train up to four times a week, including outdoor boot camps as well as workouts at the Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool.
Part of that training will include snowshoeing on the sandy beaches of Summerville Beach Provincial Park. While it might sound unusual to some, Betty Ann says it’s quite effective in maintaining snowshoeing skills during the nonwinter months.
“It is a little harder (than on snow), but if you can get yourself right in that space when the tide has come in or out, where the wet sand meets the dry sand, that’s where it’s the best,” she said.
One crucial skill on snowshoes is to be able to stop moving correctly and safely, something Betty Ann says the three athletes have mastered. She tells her athletes not to stop abruptly when they cross the finish line, but to continue moving through.
“If you don’t watch what you do … you could fall like a tree being chopped down,” she said.
Besides the training Colby, Emily and Michael are doing for the Worlds, other local Special Olympics athletes will soon be returning to the gym as well. Betty Ann says the hope is for some provincial events to happen this summer with safety protocols in place.
It’s clear from listening to Betty Ann that she believes the three athletes will be terrific representatives of Canada and the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
“I am like a proud mom with those three,” she said. “They’re good athletes. All three have done fundraising (activities) like bagging groceries or selling tickets.
“If you gave one per cent to a Special Olympics athlete, you’re going to get 100 per cent back. These people are the most dedicated, loyal, friendly that you will ever meet in the world.”
South Shore Special Olympians chosen for Team Canada’s snowshoeing event “It’s going to be a big experience for me. It’s going to be amazing.” Colby Oikle
Athlete