Central Region well-represented at Summer Games

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This article was published 02/08/2016 (3554 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Rio Summer Olympics will soon begin, but closer to home, athletes from the Central Region will join hundreds of other youth at the Power Smart Manitoba Games from Aug. 7 to 13 in Steinbach, Man.

About 1,800 athletes, aged 10 to 17, from across Manitoba are expected to compete in events such as baseball, golf, triathlon and swimming.

One such athlete is Kendra Penner, 12, from La Salle who is in the co-ed sailing competition for ages 10 to 14 on Westhawk Lake.

Penner spends most of her summers at the family cottage at Falcon Lake and began sailing two years ago.

“We (she and her family) decided to take sailing lessons and I loved it,” she said.
While there is no lake near her home, she practices with Sail Manitoba at Winnipeg’s FortWhyte Centre, Pelican Lake and Lake Winnipeg.

Penner said she’s excited about taking part in her first major competition.

Poplar Point golfer Ryland McKay is being coached by his father Norman. Ryland, 21, is one of two Central Region golfers participating in the Special Olympics event at Steinbach Fly-In Golf Club. Norman said Ryland, who has autism, will play nine holes.

Ryland practices at Southport Golf Club near Portage la Prairie.

“He’s pretty excited,” Norman said. “He enjoys golfing.”

Zoe Penno, 13, is competing in the triathlon for girls age 14 and 15 (she will turn 14 later this year) at St. Malo Provincial Park and also in the U15 cycling event in Sandilands Provincial Forest and Steinbach.

Penno, who attends Sanford Collegiate, is no stranger to participating in triathlons, a sport that combines swimming, cycling and running, as she said she completed three triathlons in 2015.

“It was a great opportunity for me to do that,” she said.

Penno has been mountain biking for years with her family. She trains for swimming at the University of Manitoba and is a member of her school’s track and cross-country teams.

The triathlon event is being held during the first half of the games, so Penno said it will serve as a bit of a warm-up for the cycling. This will be the first time that she’s participated in a provincial games, but she’s not nervous.

“I’m looking forward to hanging out with my friends,” she said, adding that she plans to do her best.

One of Penno’s coaches is Rhonda Kitchen, from Portage la Prairie. Kitchen has coached Central Region triathletes for four years.

“My role is to provide opportunities for the athletes to train and get to know each other. It has been great to see them connect and encourage each other in this process. It is exciting to see them develop confidence and pride as they learn new skills,” she wrote in an email.

“Some of our athletes are well positioned to get medals; others will enjoy the social experience having met new friends and teammates they didn’t have while competing as an individual.”

Another Portage resident, Trevor Shwaluk will also be busy coaching as he’s with the Central Region’s 16 and under girls’ softball team. His daughters Kiera, 16, and 14-year-old twins Maddie and Paige also play on the team.

He said the girls have competed at the Western Canada Summer Games. They also play on a team in the Smitty’s Terminators fast-pitch league and have competed in national and international tournaments. However, this will be their first time at the Manitoba games.

“I think they’re excited because the games will be a mini-Olympics-type event,” he said.

Kiera plays centre field and Maddie and Paige sometimes flank her in the outfield, while occasionally switching up to play second and third base as well.

Shwaluk said he expects the Centre Region girls to hold their own against the other teams, and sees the two Winnipeg teams and one from the Interlake Region as being their main competitors.

For more information on the Manitoba Games see www.sportmanitoba.ca/power-smart-games/summer-2016

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