As the 2013 Canada Summer Games wrapped up, Team BC has performed as expected, finishing in the top three with a total of 122 medals – 47 gold, 36 silver and 39 bronze.
On the last day of competition, BC’s rowing team was a force to be reckoned with as the team earned five gold and one bronze for a grand total of 10 gold, one silver and one bronze throughout their meet. In total, Team BC took home 12 rowing medals out of a possible 14 medals.
* SportMedBC was represented at the games by Manager of Safety & Event Services, Seb Hartell. Seb is the Medical Manager for Team BC.
The first final of the day was the women’s lightweight double in which Deborah Snell (Brentwood Bay) and Keira Flanagan (Sidney) took home the gold in front of cheering fans. This newly formed duo came together four weeks ago and shows great promise for the future.
In the men’s four event, Samuel Harris (Kelowna), Martin Barakso (Nanaimo), Colin Schaap (Richmond) and Lucas deGelder (Vancouver), started the race down by half a length at the 500m mark but managed to get open water by the 1000m, and continued to pull away from there.
These four athletes later raced in the men’s eight event, along with rowers Cameron James (Richmond), Aaron and Max Lattimer (Delta), Angus Todd (Vancouver). The boys gave it their all and took gold in the end. These performances, combined with the previous day’s performances resulted in an undefeated men’s sweep for the team.
Team BC also found success on the links, winning gold in both team events, the women’s individual event and the men’s individual event. Throughout the tournament, the entire team gave solid performances.
Kevin Kwon (Maple Ridge) had a phenomenal day, winning the men’s individual by 13 shots, including three birdies in a row.
The women also found success, winning gold in the team event. Eighteen-year old Taylor Kim (Surrey) played well all week and took gold in the women’s individual.
It was fantastic day at the beach volleyball venue for Team BC. The McNamara twins played against an undefeated Ontario team, who are five years their senior. The girls did a great job keeping pace, as both teams were playing fairly safe. Ontario’s size advantage made a challenge for BC, as they had some key blocks that made the difference.
BC did everything they could, but Ontario came out on top taking the gold medal by winning in straight sets, 21-18; 21-16. Team BC girls Nicole and Megan McNamara (Delta) took home silver.
On the men’s side, Dan Caverly (Coquitlam) and Team BC flag bearer Ben Chow (Surrey) came into the match as favourites, after going undefeated throughout the tournament. They faced off against a tough Ontario team, and put on a show for the hundreds of fans. BC took the first set 21-18 as Chow had some huge blocks, while Caverly made some unbelievable chases and digs.
In the second set, Ontario came up with some huge blocks and stops of their own, and took it 21-15, forcing it to a deciding third set. Chow and Caverly were on a mission to take the gold, and weren’t going to be stopped. They won match point at 15-12, and Caverly tackled his partner in celebration.
On top of winning a gold medal, Chow was chosen as BC’s flag bearer for the Games closing ceremonies, based on his performance and his volunteer and coaching experiences. He was waving the flag proudly and carried the torch that will now be en route to Prince George for 2015.
The Fencers also finished the Games in style with a total of ten medals: 4 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze. Emma von Dadelszen (Vancouver) completed her day with two gold medals, one for individual and one for team. This has been BC’s best ever set of results in fencing at a Canada Games and coaches Victor Gantsevich (Richmond), Zbigniew Pietrusinski (North Vancouver) and team manager Monica Peterson (New Westminster) couldn’t be prouder.
After five games in five days, the men’s soccer team came out strong as they took on hometown favourites Quebec in the final. Coming into the tournament seeded 8th after the 2009 Canada Summer Games, Team BC played hard throughout the match. In the end, the Quebec team proved to be too much for the BC boys and at the end of 90 minutes, Quebec came out on top with a final score of 2-0, leaving BC with the silver medal.
Also showing outstanding progress is BC’s women’s basketball team. The ladies played a strong tournament and took on challenges with determination. After making it into the final, young Team BC moved up a step, taking silver.
The cyclist also finished on the podium with Tessa Pinckston (White Rock) winning the bronze medal in the women’s criterium by playing it smart. Not usually an aggressive person, Pinckston knew that she would have to change that if she had any chance of winning a medal.
Pinckston pushed hard and won the last lap – earning her the ten points she needed to put that medal around her neck.
Diving’s final event also say a podium finish, with Courtney Hattie (Victoria) and Madeleine Wainman (Coquitlam) taking bronze in the women’s 3m synchro event. A recently formed pair, the 17-year old divers performed exceptionally well, landing them a final score of 271.71. This is Hattie’s third medal in these Games, having won bronze in the women’s 1m springboard and gold in the women’s 3m springboard event.
Triathlon wrapped up with the mixed team relay event. Megan Kinghorn (Victoria), Connor Foreman (Victoria), Elsabet Lapointe (Victoria) and her brother Carsten Lapointe (Vancouver) represented BC and gave it their all during the entire competition. The team clocked a combined time of 1:26:11.0 to finish 5th overall.
Cheering on their teammates were Maya Munzar (Cobble Hill) and Jericho O’Connell (Victoria). Under Coach Kelly Guest’s (Victoria) leadership the team performed well throughout the week and truly embraced the Canada Games experience.
In addition to medals, Team BC also improved in overall flag points. At each Canada Games, the province or territory with the greatest amount of points is declared the champion and presented with the Canada Games Flag. Flag points are awarded to every athlete in every sport based on performance and participation and then aggregated for each province and territory.
At the 2013 Canada Summer Games, British Columbia earned a total of 258.5 points, positioning Team BC in second place behind Ontario’s 289.0 points. Team BC’s total represents an increase from the 2009 Canada Summer Games that had earned BC a total of 247 flag points. As the host province, Quebec came in third, with 258.0 points – a mere half-point difference with BC.
Also to note, Team BC has also seen an improvement in the overall performance of its team sports, having medalled in 9 out of 10 team sports. This represents approximately 90% of team sport athletes leaving these Games with a medal. Team sports account for 35% for Team BC athletes.
The 2005 Canada Summer Games saw 204 BC athletes out of 352 come away with medals. In 2009, Team BC sent 349 athletes and 216 walked away with medals. At the 2013 Canada Summer Games, Team BC sent a total of 349 athletes and 234 of them took home some hardware – representing an increase of 5% from 2009.
“I want to congratulate Team BC athletes as well as coaches, volunteers and staff on their impressive performance at the Sherbrooke Canada Summer Games,” said the Honourable Coralee Oakes, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “They are an inspiration for the entire province. Our government is proud to invest in and stand behind our athletes and their strong performance is proof that our sport system is working. Well done Team BC!”
In addition to outstanding sport performances, Team BC was honoured to have received the coveted Claude Hardy Award. At every Games, the Canada Games Council, in partnership with the Host Society of the Games identify one province or territory that has set themselves apart throughout the Games. The Claude Hardy Award is presented to a provincial or territorial team in recognition of leadership, cooperation, integrity, and esprit de corps.
In the end, the 2013 Canada Summer Games brought with it a number of successes and memorable performances. The first week saw incredible sport action, including women’s soccer taking gold for the third time in a row, and the baseball boys moving from 7th place in 2009, to winning gold in 2013. In the second week, BC saw its rowing team continue to dominate on the water and fencing finishing better than ever before.
Visit the Team BC website; On Facebook; and on Twitter.
About Team BC
Every four years the Province of British Columbia assembles a team of athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff to represent the province at Canada’s premiere multi-sport events – the Canada Winter Games, the Canada Summer Games and the Western Canada Summer Games. Representing the best in BC, they are known as Team BC. The Team BC program is more than British Columbia’s best; it is also about building excellence. For some athletes, the Canada Games are a goal along the way to what they hope will be success in sport at major multi-sport Games including Olympic and Paralympic Games.
About the Canada Games
The Canada Games are a national multi-sport competition with participation from every province and territory in Canada. The Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer. The 2013 Canada Summer Games will be held August 2 – 17, 2013 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, bringing together approximately 4,500 athletes who will be competing in 20 disciplines, along with coaches, managers and officials from coast to coast.For more information on Team BC, including latest results, athlete profiles and calendar of upcoming events, visit TeamBC.org. High resolution images are available for download through flickr.com or directly on Team BC’s website.
– Team BC
