All the hard work, practice and preparation are about to come to a head for eight Moose Jaw area athletes.
They’re off to Niagara, Ont. for the 2022 Canada Summer Games, the largest multi-sport domestic event in Canada -- and if everything goes according to plan, they’ll also be bringing home plenty of hardware from the event.
Three Moose Jaw Mustangs lacrosse players will participate in the competition, with Mykenzie Shymko getting things started in female box lacrosse during the first week of action.
Saskatchewan opens their tournament against Manitoba on Aug. 7 before facing P.E.I. and Quebec on Aug. 8 and New Brunswick on Aug. 9 to wrap up round robin play. The top three teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals on Aug. 10 before the semifinals on Aug. 11 and medal games on Aug. 12.
Once Shymko and her crew are wrapped up, it’ll be time for Mustangs standouts Cashton Seaborg and Mason Williams to go to work.
Team Sask opens the male box lacrosse competition against Manitoba on Aug. 16, followed by P.E.I. and New Brunswick on Aug. 17 and Quebec on Aug. 18. The quarter-finals are on Aug. 19, semifinals Aug. 20 and medal games on Aug. 21.
The Canada Games experience won’t be all that new for tennis player Harry Lin, who will make the trip to Niagara after also competing in the Western Canada Games back in 2019.
The tennis competition is in a team format. Round robin pools are grouped based on previous Canada Games results, with the top four teams from the 2017 Games in Pool A, next four provinces -- including Saskatchewan -- in Pool B and final three teams in Pool C. The top team from Pool B advances directly to the quarter-final, with the other three provinces playing a qualification game against Pool C before moving on.
Round robin play sees Team Sask against New Brunswick on Aug. 7, Manitoba on Aug. 8 and Nova Scotia on Aug. 9. The qualification round is on Aug. 10, quarters on Aug. 11, semifinals on Aug. 12 and medal matches on Aug. 12.
In the pool, the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins will be represented by Makaya Arnott and Damian Chartrand, with Arnott competing in the 50-metre freestyle and Chartand in the 50-m breaststroke during the first week of the Games.
Chartrand will be in the pool first on Aug. 8, with Arnott taking her crack at a medal on Aug. 11.
The U17 A provincial champion Moose Jaw Ice will be represented by outfielder Makena Simmons and pitcher Katie Newberry, with their tournament also kicking off during the first week of play.
Saskatchewan takes on Nova Scotia in their opener on Aug. 7 before duelling P.E.I. and Manitoba on Aug. 8 and closing things out against one of the pre-tournament favourites B.C. on Aug. 9.
The qualification playoffs run on Aug. 10 and Aug. 11, followed by the medal games on Aug. 12.
You can check out all the results throughout the two weeks on www.niagara2022games.ca.
