If you heard that comment from anybody in Estevan this past week, you would have had my permission to kick them in the shins.
What a fantastic time we had. Oh sure, you didn’t get to see everything and everybody you wanted to see in action during the Sask. Summer Games, but that was because you were busy volunteering, or waiting on or helping a visitor out or wading into some activity associated with the Games.
It seemed as if everybody in Estevan was engaged in something to do with the Games and we hope you just kept smiling and doing, even on Day 6.
What truly impressed me were the items that came along that simply enriched the whole Games experience, whether it be the cultural and recreational fun things offered at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum and the Souris Valley Museum that were Games-themed or the action at the library or just in the hallways and roadways between events.
Personally, I had a mint assignment with all those triathletes. What a determined and polite group of “get it done” kids.
Of course I was jealous of the fact I didn’t get to see the South East’s gold performance on the diamond, but I got to hook up with old friends at the volleyball court to see some South East players in medal action.
Another heartening aspect of these games was the positive attitude that prevailed throughout and the fact that most games included a good group of spectators who enjoyed the play whether it was by their own sons, daughters or grandkids or just fans of the game.
As I write this column, which I have to do in advance since this was also a long, so-called, “holiday” weekend, the Games still hadn’t rolled to a conclusion so I cannot comment on specific achievements or how our South East group did. I did know that heading into the Friday evening’s schedule, things looked good in the swimming pool and there were some hopes springing for the volleyball teams and maybe even a tennis player or softball team or two.
But really, winning wasn’t everything. Being here was!
I enjoyed my chat with the youngster from the North who won his team’s first medal, on Tuesday. He was thrilled and was excited to show me his silver prize, something he can take with him throughout his life’s journey. How about those Soccer girls from the far north who travelled two days by bus just to get to the extreme southeast part of the same province. I hope they had fun, and who cares if they won a game or not? I hoped they could hear Catriona Le May Doan when she told the athletes to absorb the sights, sounds and the experiences, since it wasn’t going to be the medals that will make them great. Playing the game right makes for greatness especially if you can share the moments not only with teammates, but also with your opposition. And that’s probably what I liked the most about these Summer Games. There was no hatred.
I saw a lot of determination. I saw frustration, I saw success, I saw failure, I saw tears and I saw smiles and heard a lot of laughter, but I didn’t witness hatred. That’s not to say there wasn’t any, but if there was, it wasn’t on display.
I think our international Olympic athletes could take a lesson or two about the spirit of competition from those 12 to 16-year-old kids we had here in our city for a week. None of them failed a drug test, none were caught cheating. All of them earned our respect and cheers.
