Team Yukon is ready to roll.
The team that will represent the territory at the Western Canada Summer Games August 7-16 in Wood Buffalo, Alta., has been selected.
A total of 119 athletes, 25 coaches, eight managers plus mission staff, making a total of 165, will be waving Yukon flags at the opening ceremony.
“In talking to many of the teams, they’re super excited,” said Yukon Chef de Mission Trevor Twardochleb. “I know the region of Wood Buffalo is jacked up to have everybody there. They have jaw-dropping facilities, their cultural program mixed with the athletic competition is going to be out of this world – it’s going to be one big show. And, I tell you, the athletes are going to be treated exceptionally well.”
It’s the biggest team Yukon has sent to a summer Games for some time. It’s up from 102 athletes at the 2011 westerns in Kamloops and 99 athletes at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.
Some gaps from Yukon’s 2011 westerns roster have been filled. Unlike in Kamloops, Yukon will have representation in gymnastics, canoe/kayak, judo and female basketball.
Also, Yukon’s athletics team is much larger. Only four competed at the 2011 westerns and 20 are on the roster this time around.
One area on the roster that saw a decrease is in swimming. Only two swimmers – Cassis Lindsay and Luke Bakica – will hit the pool these westerns, down from 14 in 2011.
For the first time Yukon will be kicking up sand with a beach volleyball team. Max Clarke and Benjamin Grundmanis will compete in beach volleyball and will also be on Yukon’s male indoor volleyball team.
“This is the first time ever we’re competing in beach volleyball and I hope it’s the start of good things to come,” said Twardochleb.
Clarke and Grundmanis aren’t the only athletes on more than one squad. Ewan Halliday and Matthias Hoenisch are slated to compete in both tennis and soccer, Kate Londero in athletics and female volleyball, and Justin Wishart-MacDougall in athletics and soccer.
Team Yukon will hold a pep rally at Shipyards Park on Monday at 6 p.m.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com
Roster
Artistic Gymnastics
Reena Coyne
Coach – Catherine O’Donovan
Athletics
Sophie Janke
Kate Londero
Katie Vowk
Shailyn Moore
Alysha Gullison
Jennifer Mendelsohn Kestrel Martin
Kieran Halliday
Jared Leary
Malcolm Muir
Eric Porter
James Russel
Kuduat Shorty-Henyu Brody Smith
Cassel Scholz
Aidan Bradley
Caleb Charlie
Brahm Hyde
Levi Johnson
Jack Amos
Darby McIntyre
Justin Wishart-MacDougall
Coach – Kristen Johnston
Coach – Lisa-Marie Vowk
Coach – Chris Kirk
Coach – Rodney Hulstein
Coach – Don White
Manager – Elyn Jones
Badminton
Lukas Kobler
Mannie Sharma
Ritik Sharma
Coach – Kathie Harrop
Manager – Brian Wilson
Basketball (female)
Jetta Bilsky
Hannah Bjork-Andison Landyn Blisner
Maggie Brook
Sheridan Curteanu
Dylan Massie
Katelyn Holway
Emily Johnson
Ebony Leamon
Isabel Magsucang Danni Nelson
Sigourny Whipple-Grantham Coach – Jamie Shaw
Coach – Nicole Schroeder
Basketball (male)
Ralph Hermosa
Ryan Hindson
Cameron Kasook
Darcy LaRochelle Akshay Malhotra
Dave Mindanao
Christopher Nerysoo
Ian New
Christian Ouimet Josh Rumbaoa
Grayson Turner
Coach – Mark Hureau
Coach – Chris Carino
Manager – Scott Hindson
Canoe/kayak
Julianne Girouard
Pelly Vincent-Braun
Andrew Crist
Emily Crist
Coach – Dan Girouard
Manager – Jane Vincent
Cycling
Sara Burke-Forsyth
Ian Hansen
Shea Hoffman
Coach – Trena Irving
Manager – Phil Hoffman
Tech. support – Marc LaPointe
Judo
Hannah King
Brandon Butler
Jacob Melanson
Shayne Melanson Coach – Peter Melanson
Coach – Penny Prysnuk
Soccer (female)
Ava Cairns-Locke
Jewel Davies
Jayden Demchuk
Maggie Fekete
Alice Frost-Hanberg
Georgia Gaw
Malorie Hanson
Lara Herry-Saint Onge
Line Jensen
Tyra Jones
Kathleen Lanigan
Samantha Ng
Sarah Nyland
Bryn Peterson
Alizee Salesse
Dana Sellars
Charlotte van Randen
Coach – Ashley Hill
Coach – Tony Gaw
Manager – Jennifer Pope
Soccer (male)
Cody Amaral
Marek Boulerice
Skyler Bryant
Ewan Campbell
Seth Carey
Sam Crocker
Ethan Gaw
Ewan Halliday
Matthias Hoenisch
Simon Kishchuk
Carl Knickle
Nicky Koe
Felix Maltais
Tyler Milton
Ethan Vanderkley
Dawson Weir
Justin Wishart-MacDougall
Max Zaparinuk
Coach – Edwin Vanderkley
Coach – Edgar Musonda
Manager – Paul Kishchuk
Swimming
Cassis Lindsay
Luke Bakica
Coach – Malwina Bukszowana
Manager – Kathy Zrum
Tennis
Alex Roberts
Ewan Halliday
Matthias Hoenisch
Coach – Jan Polivka
Manager – Stacy Lewis
Beach Volleyball
Max Clarke
Benjamin Grundmanis
Coach – Bryce Voogd
Volleyball (female)
Paige Bevilacqua
Avery Bramadat
Thea Carey
Abby Hawes
Emma Hoogland
Ashley Lai
Kate Londero
Tayla McNally
Mel Moya
Jiela Tobias
Chloe Turner-Davis
Aly Wiens
Coach – D’Arcy Hill
Coach – Justine MacKay
Manager – Janet Clarke
Volleyball (male)
Mark Allen
Zack Bartholomeus
Max Clarke
Benjamin Grundmanis
Peter Jacob
Anshil Kumar
Adrian Robinson
Morgan Schmidt
Kieran Stacey
Luka Van Randen
Kyle Wallace
Coach – Denis Boyd
Mission Staff
Trevor Twardochleb – Chef de Mission/beach volleyball
Tracey Bilsky – asst. Chef de
Mission/basketball
Adrian Hawkings – badminton/canoe-kayak
Sarah Lewis – photographer
Paolo Gallina – communications
Catherine O’Donovan
– gymnastics
Marg White – athletics
Allan Lucier – cycling
Tara Leenders – judo
Stacy Lewis – tennis
Cali Battersby – soccer
Kathy Zrum – swimming
Janet Clarke – volleyball
