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Food, fun and fierce competition mark 42nd Frontier Games in Lynn Lake

From Feb. 10-12 the student population of West Lynn Heights School (WLHS) in Lynn Lake doubled.

From Feb. 10-12 the student population of West Lynn Heights School (WLHS) in Lynn Lake doubled. The school has once again hosted the annual Regional Frontier Games, where students aged 11 to 15 meet in the spirit of sportsmanship, camaraderie and friendly competition. It is an event which allows students to meet with old friends and family from around their region, make new friends, and compete against them in a number of individual and team sports. This event is much anticipated by athletes, coaches, chaperones and hosts alike.

The first guests to arrive travelled on Feb. 9 - a 580-kilometre bus charter from D.R. Hamilton School in Cross Lake. The following day saw the arrival of guests from Brochet Community School who were picked up at the Lynn Lake Airport. Teams from Oscar Blackburn School in South Indian Lake and Leaf Rapids Education Centre arrived by bus that afternoon.

In total, approximately 175 athletes joined West Lynn Heights School athletes for the opening ceremonies on Wednesday evening. As part of his address to athletes and coaches, games convener and WLHS vice-principal Larry Skomorowski addressed the athletes and coaches, including a quote by Olympian Jesse Owens in 1936, “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, but friends gather no dust.” The crowd was then enthralled by a performance by five traditional jingle and fancy dancers who are in Grades 1-5 at WLHS and a rap performance by Jermaine Merasty, AKA “D-63.”

Kiara Johnson, an 11-year-old basketball and floor hockey player from Leaf Rapids remarked, “Sportsmanship is one of the things I liked most about this week. Everyone played hard and it’s all about having fun.” This was a theme that resonated throughout the week with most athletes.

Alliyah Paupanekis, Chloe Mcleod and Karlyn Settee, a trio of 14-year-olds from Cross Lake, said, “Frontier Games was fun. The school is awesome, people are kind,” “I had so much fun here, it didn’t matter if I won as long as I had fun. So I wish I didn’t have to leave,” and “I didn’t really care about winning. I just cared about having fun.”

The competition, however, was fast, furious, and many events were hotly contested. Archery scores came down to single-point differences between first and second place on the girls’ scoresheet, and girls’ trap setting times, calculated by averaging totals, were decided by a difference of 0.35 seconds between second and third place. Boys’ table tennis saw first- and second-place finishes determined by 27 and 26 wins, respectively.

The weather was challenging for both athletes and officials in outdoor events who stood against -33 Celsius temperatures and windchills between -45 and -50. WLHS educational assistant Kayla Dumas is highly commended for spending most of Thursday outside organizing and timing athletes through all the snowshoeing and cross-country skiing events. “It was minus a million out there. I don’t know how she did it all day,” another staff member was heard to comment.

Visiting students were billeted in four classrooms and four multi-purpose rooms to ensure minimal disruption to elementary instruction. One of the most appreciated aspects of the week was the food provided. Staff and student volunteers served daily meals for approximately 200 over the course of the event, in addition to continuing the regular breakfast program for local students. Chief cook and bottle-washer Bobbi Walker ran an incredible food service with her team and has the thanks of everyone involved. “It’s been great to meet so many polite, happy and friendly kids. Food just makes everyone happier; the better the food the better the event.”

Frontier School Division physical education co-ordinator Brian “Mick” McMillan, was also on hand for the week and presented medals to the winning athletes. First-place team sports competitors and badminton champions and the top two competitors in individual sports from this regional event, one of 10 regional events in the division, will advance to the 42nd Divisional Championships in Cranberry Portage March 2-4. “Hard work pays off in the end. Congrats to all the winners and a big thank you to West Lynn Heights School for being fantastic hosts once again.”

Northern Manitoba may be the coldest part of the province, but no matter the weather, the warmth produced by every community represented here this week makes it seem like a tropical paradise. West Lynn Heights School would like to thank everyone involved for being a part of this event.

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