Nunavut’s wrestling team is getting a couple of days to settle in before facing competition on Wednesday at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L. Here, Nunavut wrestling coach Chris Crooks, wearing the black shirt, demonstrates a takedown move as Team Nunavut wrestlers train ahead of competition. (Photo courtesy of Paula Cziranka)
Week 2 of Canada Summer Games to be served up and thrown down
Team Nunavut’s wrestlers and volleyball players prepare to face competition from across Canada
The second and final week of the Canada Summer Games is ramping up as Team Nunavut’s indoor volleyball players and wrestlers get ready to shine in St. John’s, N.L., this week.
“Our athletes are excited to be a part of the games here in St. John’s. They have been training together since July 23,” said Paula Cziranka, manager for the Nunavut wrestling team, in an email.
Team Nunavut’s wrestling team includes members from Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Baker Lake, Coral Harbour, Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay and Pangnirtung, she said.
It was in wrestling that Nunavut earned its sole gold medal, in 2022. Even with that historic success, Cziranka is trying to temper expectations.
“It is important to understand that the amount of training they have put in, while impressive, pales in comparison to the competition they will meet at the Games,” she said.
“Teams from other provinces have participated in up to 40 matches this year alone — our athletes have participated in as few as three matches.”
The team’s focus is to prepare the athletes to be champions “on and off the mat,” she said, explaining that medals can be a byproduct of that philosophy.
Team Nunavut is competing in four sports this year: Beach volleyball and basketball last week, and indoor volleyball and wrestling this week.
Athletes participating in Week 2 arrived in the city on Sunday. They were not affected by the Air Canada strike, which began Saturday and has led to hundreds of flight cancellations so far.
Nunavut competitors were already in the south at training camps, said Katrina Krawec, a spokesperson for Team Nunavut.
The strike also has not disrupted travel for the athletes returning home after Week 1, she said, as they flew on chartered flights.
This week’s competitors get a small break on Monday to settle in before indoor volleyball starts Tuesday, with Nunavut’s men’s team facing off against Prince Edward Island at The Works – Field House and the women playing Newfoundland and Labrador at the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Centre. Both games will be served up at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Nunavut wrestlers see their first action on Wednesday.
All competitions can be watched live online on the Canada Summer Games website.
Week 1 of the Games came to a close for Team Nunavut on Friday with no wins in men’s and women’s basketball or beach volleyball.
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