Theory of relativity
N.L. athletes have plenty of family support in Prince George
Up to the point where Wendy Kenny saw her son Nathan and the rest of Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s boys hockey team hit the ice for a warm-up skate prior to their opening game at the Canada Winter Games, she was able to keep her emotions in check.
“I was standing there looking out, and all of a sudden it hit me, and my eyes started to fill up and I started to cry,” says Kenny.
“It’s such a big thing. It’s a very emotional time.”
Kenny, her husband, Austin, and their six-year-old son Declan are just three of the dozens of parents and family members who made the close to 4,800-kilo- metre trip from St. John’s to northern B.C. to watch their kids compete during this week and last.
The province’s synchronized swimming team also has its share of supporters in the stands at the local aquatic centre. Mary O’Brien and Brendan Barrett also made the long haul to Prince George to watch their 14-year-old daughter, Catherine, compete.
O’Brien says they simply had to be here to see the team so proudly represent the province.
“That, for us, is very important,” insists O’Brien, a native of Ireland who moved to the province with her husband 27 years ago. “It’s not just to support Catherine being here, but to support the entire team, the other athletes, the coaches and the managers.”
As all Newfoundlanders are well aware, getting off the island is never cheap. More often than not, one can fly to southern climes and back for a fraction of the cost of flying clear across Canada and back again.
“For people coming from any- where on the east coast all the way to the west coast, it’s very expensive,” says O’Brien. “It’s the first time I think my husband and I have both come to an event together.”
For the Kenny family, their 13day excursion came at the cost of a trip they had been planning for the whole family, which also includes daughter Caitlin, 20, and son Ryan, 18.
“We had actually been saving our Aeroplan miles to go to Florida and when this opportunity came up, none of the kids minded forfeiting the trip to ( for us) to come to the Games,” Kenny says, noting that her oldest children couldn’t afford to take the time away off school to join them.
“They’re home watching online, setting up the laptop at Nanny and Poppy’s.”
Generally speaking, athletes are pretty tightly sequestered during the Games, which doesn’t afford a lot of opportunity to catch up with visiting family.
The Kennys had an opportunity for a quick meeting with Nathan at the Canada Games Plaza earlier this week, but it was a rendezvous in the stands of the CN Centre following a win over the Yukon that meant the most to Wendy.
“When I walked up to him, he had his arms already out. One of the other moms said, ‘I wouldn’t even ask him for a hug.’ I said, ‘I didn’t ask. I’m his mom. He’s got to hug me.’
“That was the first time I really saw him since we’ve been here. It was nice to give him a big hug.”
I was standing there looking out, and all of a sudden it hit me, and my eyes started to fill up and I started to cry. ... It’s such a big thing. It’s a very emotional time.
Wendy Kenny