Team Sask concludes the 2017 Canada Summer Games tied for 6th in overall performance

WINNIPEG, MB (August 14th, 2017): After two weeks of intense competition in 16 different sports, the 2017 Canada Summer Games have concluded. Team Sask finished in a tie with Nova Scotia for 6th place in the final flag point standings. Flag points are awarded to each team, male and female, based on their final placing in that sport; the accumulation of those placings rank the thirteen provinces & territories on how well each did in all sports throughout the Games. 

Team Sask finished in 3rd place in Centennial Cup standings with a +6 flag point improvement over the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, QC. The host province of Manitoba captured the Centennial Cup with its +11.5 improvement over points earned in 2013. The Centennial Cup recognizes the most-improved overall performance by a province or territory as compared to the previous Summer Games. Finally, Team Sask finished in seventh place in the medal standings, capturing 35 medals in total: 8 gold, 10 silver, and 17 bronze.

“We’re pleased with the overall performance of the team,” said Team Sask Chef de Mission Mark Bracken. “The athletes left everything they had on the field of play to represent our province, and we are so proud of their efforts. Although we did not accomplish our goal of a top 5 finish in medals and flag points, we saw significant improvements in our team sport performances, and countless athletes in our individual sports notched personal best times and finishes. Both on and off the field, Saskatchewan athletes once again did us proud.”

Six of the province’s 35 medals were earned by Saskatoon para-swimmer Shelby Newkirk, who won 4 gold and 2 silver medals. As a seven-time Canadian and two-time Americas record holder in various para-swimming events, Newkirk is one of Saskatchewan's most promising Paralympic prospects. Other Team Sask alumni who have gone on to Olympic glory after competing at the Canada Games include Catriona LeMay Doan in speed skating, Brianne Theisen-Eaton in athletics, Mark McMorris in snowboard and Kaylyn Kyle in soccer.

During week two, six medals were earned in wrestling and an additional three were earned in swimming by Becky Dean, Emma Spence, and Michael McGillivary, who set a new provincial record in his 800m freestyle swim. 

Other highlights throughout the course of the Games included Nick Patrick of St. Louis, SK pitching a perfect softball game against BC.; Joe Gerlinsky of the Battlefords winning gold and the province’s first-ever gold medal in sailing; Kade Johnson of Yorkton shooting a 66 in golf on his birthday on his way to a 7th place overall finish, a score which was 6 under par and the lowest of the tournament; men's softball notching one of its best-ever performances at a Games with a silver medal; and additional podium performances in rowing, athletics, and diving.

In what was the highest-attended event of any Canada Games in its 50-year history, Team Sask capped off the first week of the Games with a gold medal baseball game against Team Manitoba. In front of a crowd of 6,800 in Winnipeg’s Shaw Park, Team Sask prevailed 3-1 and made history by bringing home the province’s first-ever gold medal in baseball at the Canada Games.

The following sports were contested during the two-week duration of the Games:

  • Athletics
  • Baseball (Male)
  • Basketball (Male & Female)
  • Canoe Kayak
  • Cycling (Road)
  • Cycling (Mountain Bike)
  • Diving
  • Golf 
  • Sailing
  • Soccer (Male & Female)
  • Softball (Female & Female)
  • Swimming
  • Rowing
  • Tennis
  • Triathlon
  • Volleyball (Male & Female)
  • Beach Volleyball (Male & Female)
  • Wrestling

This year saw the Canada Games celebrate its 50th anniversary. The next edition of the biannual Games, which alternate between summer and winter, will be held in Red Deer, Alberta in February 2019. The next Canada Summer Games will be held in the Niagara region of Ontario in 2021.

Team Sask Medal List

Full Results

Photos from the 2017 Canada Summer Games

Stay up-to-date with Team Sask on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and at teamsask.ca. All Team Sask results can be found at cg2017.gems.pro. 
 
The official 2017 Canada Summer Games website is located at 2017canadagames.ca.

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For more information, please contact:
Karen Lawson
Games Services & Communications Lead
(306) 780-9387
klawson@saskgames.ca