Countdown on for NL Summer Games in Bay Roberts
The countdown to the 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games is officially on in the town of Bay Roberts.
As Games mascot Blaze danced to an Irish tune in the gymnasium at Ascension Collegiate, hundreds of people from the town, including athletes from the Winter Games, came out for an official launch party for the Summer Games. It’s the real thing now. “We’re launching the games officially now,” said Bay Roberts Mayor Walter Yetman. “We had to wait for Gander, of course, to get their Games done. They’ve done a wonderful job, but now that’s over, we can concentrate on moving ahead with ours.”
The Games will see thousands of athletes, coaches and team officials in 10 sports come to the town Aug. 10-17.
Those sports will be played in venues around Bay Roberts and the region.
“We have a lot of volunteers in the region because we’re using the region,” said Yetman. “We’re using venues in different communities. It’s about collaboration with towns, collaboration with the residents of all the communities.”
LONG TIME COMING
For these Games, many of the plans and committee structures have been in place since 2018 when the Bay Roberts edition was first announced.
That includes Games cochairs Judy Morrow and Neil Kearley.
Along with their organizing committee, they had some initial planning already done by the time they were postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These games were supposed to go ahead in 2020 and, of course, we all know what happened in 2020,” said Morrow. “So, we had ourselves good and partially organized back in the early part of 2020 when we got shut down for COVID and we were left in good shape and then we picked up last year right where we left off.”
In the last year, they’ve hired a Games manager and assistant Games manager and are well on their way to being ready to host the province come August.
Both Kearley and Morrow have watched their children compete in the Games. Kearley even competed in one of the first Games in soccer.
He was at the gym in Ascension on Wednesday and was encouraged by the community turnout.
“We’re very pleased with the turnout that we’ve had here tonight and the energy that’s in the gym. It’s a great response,” said Kearley.
HOSTING PROVINCE
At the launch party in Bay Roberts, several athletes who took part in the Gander event described some of their experiences there.
They pointed to the athlete’s village and hanging out with their teammates outside of their sports as highlights of the games for them, along with competing.
“It was great,” said table tennis athlete Lilly Drover. “I had a lot of fun and it was a new thing to do.”
Given the closeness of the two Games, there is a chance that some of the athletes at the launch party could compete again this summer in Bay Roberts.
For Keagan Elms, who won gold with the Avalon male hockey team, that second time could come in soccer.
That’s something he’s looking forward to.
“It was lots of fun,” Elms said of his experience in Gander.
While it is still several months until the competitions start in Bay Roberts, people are starting to get excited about showcasing the region to the province.
When it comes to what they’re looking forward to the most, their focus is squarely on the athletes and making sure their experiences are topnotch.
“The experience that the athletes have, I think that’s what it’s all about,” said Morrow. “I want them to be able to say, ‘Wow, we had a great time. It was a great competitive sporting event, good accommodations, good food ... all of the things that will make the sporting event, the highlight for the young athletes.
“That’s what’s most important to me and that’s where our focus has been.”