麻豆社区

Canada Summer Games fever got into high gear Friday night, as Team Yukon athletes gathered for an up-beat pep rally at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

The first group of athletes will head to Sherbrooke, Que. early Thursday morning.

Friday's event began with a motivational video featuring Canadian Olympic stars such as Hayley Wickenheiser and Catriona Le May Doan 鈥� who were first noticed at past editions of the Canada Games 鈥� and also featured a variety of stirring speeches from local officials and recently-retired swim great MacKenzie Downing.

Each of the territory's 99 athletes then spent a moment in the spotlight performing a team cheer in their new red and white uniforms, complete with black hats with purple brims. The Yukon will be represented by 11 teams at the 2013 Games.

From Aug. 2 to 17, about 4,000 athletes from Canada's 13 provinces and territories will compete for top honours in 20 sports.

Chef de Mission Trevor Twardochleb asked the local athletes to be leaders and champions for the northern territory.

"Yukoners are some of the greatest ambassadors our country has to offer,鈥� he said in his message to the team. "So let's prove it. I wish you all the greatest success in Quebec.鈥�

Community Services Minister Elaine Taylor congratulated each of the athletes on making Team Yukon.

"You guys have worked hard and deserve to be here today,鈥� she told the group. "Enjoy the Games and all that they bring. Enjoy it to the fullest, to your potential. Play hard and do your level best in your competition. Be proud of your efforts and where you come from.

"Just remember, you've got some 35,000-plus fans cheering you on here in Yukon as you're competing.鈥�

Downing said the support of the hometown crowd is critical when competing on the national stage.

"Through victory and defeats alike, I always knew that I could come home and that I had community that supported me and my athletic

accomplishments,鈥� the 26-year-old said. "I feel very blessed to have grown up as an athlete in such a great community.鈥�

The unique challenges of the Arctic, including long bus rides to meets and early morning practices at -40 degrees, helped put her career on the path to success, Downing admitted.

"When I got behind the blocks at a major Games ... I knew that I was tougher than my competitors,鈥� she said.

Near the end of the rally, Team Yukon's official flagbearer was announced as Kieran Halliday.

The 17-year-old tennis and track 麻豆社区said he was humbled by the honour.

"I was really surprised actually,鈥� Halliday said. "I thought it was going to be someone else. I was kind of secretly hoping for it, but kind of thinking that it would be someone older. It's awesome. It feels great. It feels good to be representing the Yukon.鈥�

Despite the hullabaloo, local athletes were taking a level-headed approach to any expectations for the upcoming national tournament.

Track 麻豆社区Logan Roots said the local team will be quite young compared to other provinces.

"I'm hoping to mix in with a few of the guys and be above a few of the other provinces,鈥� the 20-year-old said. "I'm hoping to get some good results, and hopefully with the training I've been doing, I'll run some personal best times as well.鈥�

Roots will be competing in the 1,500- and 5,000-metre runs, and said he hopes to see the Yukon flag "a little higher than the very bottom鈥� of the standings this time around.

Men's volleyball captain Michael Hunter said his team knows they will be in tough against some of the bigger provinces with a population much larger than the territory's.

"We're going to try our best,鈥� the 19-year-old said. "We have a couple of games against the Maritimes, so that's our goal 鈥� to try to take a couple sets or even a game off those guys.

"It's nice to meet a lot of other athletes and make a couple friends,鈥� Hunter said. "We're going to compete as best we can, show a lot of heart, and then you never know what will happen. Should be good.鈥�

Meanwhile, Kiana Palamar, a senior on the women's volleyball team, said winning a set is a goal.

"It would be nice to take a set, because it would be the first time a Yukon women's team has ever taken a set,鈥� she told the Star. "Right now, we're thinking mostly about the experience and just kind of getting respect from the other teams.鈥�

The women's team ranges in age from 13 to 20.

"We're lucky as Yukon kids to be able to go do this,鈥� Palamar said. "We're going to enjoy the experience and take it all in.鈥�

Late last week, TSN released its broadcast schedule for the Canada Games.

Yukoners hoping to follow along with the action will be able to spot local athletes at the opening ceremony, which will be broadcasted live on RDS and TSN2 Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

In addition to the ceremonies, Canadians will be able to watch live broadcasts of basketball, soccer, track and field, and volleyball competitions, including the women's and men's gold-medal finals.

While no Yukon matches are expected to be featured on RDS or TSN, viewers can also go online for more than 800 hours of webcasting coverage, courtesy of the Canada Games and StreamIt.

This coverage will be made available through the Games portal: canadagames.tv. Users can interact via Twitter, view live webcasts and watch archived Games footage from both this year and past year's events.