Earl Mielke, a coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, and his stepdaughter Rebecca Delaney recently returned from the national winter games in Calgary, where Delaney won a gold and a bronze medal. (Rick Conrad photo)

It may have been so cold that the first day had to be rescheduled, but for Liverpool athlete Rebecca Delaney, competing in her first national winter games was an experience she won’t forget.

Delaney, 27, won gold in the 100-metre snowshoe event at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary. She also won bronze in the 4 x 100 snowshoe relay. 

“It was very cold but I still did it,” she said in a recent interview. 

“It was amazing. Let’s just say when I got to the end, I cried.”

Delaney was one of four Queens County athletes competing at the games, which were held Feb. 27 to March 2. Jillian Young was on Delaney’s relay team that snagged the bronze. Young also won silver in the 100-metre event. Michael Moreau won silver in the 4 x 100 men’s relay, and Ben Theriau captured silver as a member of the curling team.

The athletes from Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens were part of Team Nova Scotia’s 45-athlete contingent which won 30 medals overall in Calgary.

Delaney has racked up medals in national summer games and provincial competitions before. But it was her first time kicking up the snow at a national event.

Her time was so good in the 100-metre event that she was bumped up to another division in the 200-metre race, where she competed with the fastest snowshoers in Canada. She finished fifth in that race.

“That was fast. I went like a rock star.”

Team Nova Scotia was supposed to go for a visit to Banff National Park after the events were over. But the weather grounded their bus. So, instead, they took in an AHL game.

While Delaney is proud of how she did on the snowshoe track, she says the game and the closing dance were highlights. She says going to Calgary was about more than winning. 

“I met new friends and I had fun and that’s all that matters.”

Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis is the snowshoe team’s assistant coach and Inglis’s partner Earl Mielke is the head coach.

Betty Ann Daury is the other snowshoe coach, who put the Queens athletes through their paces as much as three days a week leading up the games.

Mielke says they held practices at Queens Place Emera Centre and Privateer Park on the Liverpool waterfront.

“There were days when it was colder in the park than it was at nationals. And the wind coming across down the Mersey River, I wanted to get in the truck, I wanted to go hide. But they kept going and Betty Ann pushed them. And that really got them ready for Games.”

Delaney is already looking forward to her next competition. That will be the provincial games in Wolfville this summer, where she’ll be running in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre races, and competing in the standing long jump and the shot put.

Mielke says they’ll start training in April.

“We have a number of other athletes who won’t go to provincials but enjoy the social part and the athletic part. … And they’re already asking now, when can we start. Probably April we’ll get back out and start training for the (summer) events.”

In the meantime, Delaney is doing her part as an ambassador for Special Olympics to get more people involved.

“We need more athletes. We just need more athletes, so please bring more athletes out to Special Olympics.”

And Mielke says they also need coaches. If you’re interested in joining Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, you can reach out to them through their Facebook page. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to an audio version of the story below

Athletes Sarah Mitton, Michael Moreau, Rebecca Delaney, Abigail Smith and Jillian Young were honoured with a homecoming meet and greet at Queens Place Emera Centre on Thursday. Earl Mielke (right) is the head coach of the snowshoe team for Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County celebrated some of its most successful athletes on Thursday as national and international medallists were honoured at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Four athletes from Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens were joined by judo athlete Abigail Smith and recent world indoor shot put champion Sarah Mitton.

More than 100 people showed up to cheer on the athletes at a homecoming meet and greet organized by the Region of Queens.

Jillian Young, Michael Moreau and Rebecca Delaney made up half of Nova Scotia’s medal-winning snowshoe team at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games which wrapped up this past weekend in Calgary. And Ben Theriau of Hunts Point was on the silver-medal-winning curling team.

Young won silver in the 100 metres and bronze in the 4 x 100-metre relay; Moreau captured the silver in the 4 x 100 men’s relay; and Delaney won gold in the 100 metres and bronze in the 4 x 100 relay.

Only six athletes were selected from across the province for the snowshoe team. And three of them are from right here in Queens.

“These are three snowshoe athletes that made it by competing at provincial games to get to national games,” said Earl Mielke, assistant coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens.

“That tells you something about the program and the commitment and the coaching.

“A huge thanks to the Region of Queens and the wonderful community we have being so welcoming and inclusive. It’s really important and this community is behind these athletes. They know it, we know it and it’s wonderful to be a part of it.”

It was a sentiment shared by all the athletes on Thursday. 

Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn won the gold last Friday in the shot put at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, breaking her own Canadian record twice in the final round on the way to the win.

She said having such solid hometown support has motivated her throughout her whole career.

“It means a lot,” she told the crowd. “So much of who I am is where I came from. And this community and where I grew up, I’ve learned so much. … Everybody that has been a part of my journey has shaped me into the human being I am and most of that comes from here.”

Mitton said financial support was also crucial when she was starting out. And she said that she hopes the community continues to be giving and supportive of athletes like the Special Olympians and fellow Brooklyn athlete Abigail Smith.

“There’s so much talent in this community on every level,” she said in an interview afteward. “And I think with Abigail, she’s up and coming and I think she’s going to be the next really big thing for Queens County. I just always want to make sure we’re continuing to support the next generation. Some day I’m going to retire and these athletes will be the ones carrying Queens County on their backs. And with the Special Olympians, their joy for the sport makes me remember that sport is supposed to be fun.”

Brooklyn judo athlete Abigail Smith is only 16, but she’s already made a mark on the national and international stage, placing on the podium at national competitions and at a recent meet in Denmark. She will be travelling to Germany this month representing Team Canada in an international tournament there.

She said that even though she and Mitton grew up near each other, Thursday was the first time they had actually met.

“It’s pretty cool and pretty crazy. Sarah came up to me and said, ‘Do you mind if I sit by you?’ And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, of course.'”

Smith said it was great to see all the support from the community for all the athletes.

“It’s really nice. Of course, I always know that my community’s been behind (me) supporting me, donations, constant messages and posts. But today was very real, it was very nice, everyone is here to help me and Sarah and our Special Olympics athletes. So it was really nice.”

Mike Ferguson of Milton was one of the people who turned out to show their support.

“They’re providing inspiration to other young people to get involved in their community, in athletics or in arts, or whatever it is that makes them happy,” he said.

“It’s about working together and doing something you love doing and having happy fun at it. That’s what I think is the most important message here. Yes, you can win. There are always winners. But it’s all the rest of it. The way they all talked was so wonderful and they showed that wonderful inspiration.”

If you couldn’t make it to the event in person, you can catch a replay of the livestream on the Queens Place Facebook page. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Susan Inglis and her daughter, snowshoe athlete Rebecca Delaney, will be part of Team Nova Scotia at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary, starting Feb. 27. (Rick Conrad photo)

By Rick Conrad

Queens County athletes are getting in some last-minute training as they prepare for a big national sporting event in Calgary later this month.

The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games begin Feb. 27 and run until March 2.

And Queens County will be well represented on Team Nova Scotia. 

Liverpool’s Rebecca Delaney, 27, will be one of three local athletes on the six-person snowshoe team. She’ll be racing in the 100-metre and 200-metre events, as well as the 4×100-metre relay.

This will be the 27-year-old’s first national winter games, though she’s competed and won at provincial winter games before. And she’s a veteran of summer games where she has won many medals in track and field.

She’s excited to do well, but racking up more medals isn’t what it’s all about.

“It doesn’t really matter to me,” she says. “I just want to go and have fun.”

Team Nova Scotia will be sending 69 athletes, coaches and mission staff to Calgary. Of those, 45 athletes will compete in eight sports – five-pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, speed skating and snowshoeing.

The other team members from Queens County are Michael Moreau and Jillian Young, who are also on the snowshoe team, and Ben Theriau, who is on the curling team.

Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis is the snowshoe team’s assistant coach and Inglis’s partner Earl Mielke is the head coach.

Delaney and her teammates have been training twice a week, either indoors at Queens Place Emera Centre or outdoors when there’s enough snow.

She does some extra cardio and strength training at the Queens Place gym.

She’s going into Calgary as the fastest female on the Nova Scotia team.

“I’m competitive, very competitive. I play fair.”

Inglis says that while the games are a competition, they’re also a social event for athletes, coaches and their families.

“It’s very important. We have one athlete, our Jillian who has never been on a plane, doesn’t spend a whole lot of time outside of Liverpool so this is a really big deal for her. Whenever we go somewhere with the athletes, it’s one big social occasion.

“Everybody’s excited and happy because they don’t always get a lot of opportunities to socialize. They’re scattered in different smaller communities so Special Olympics provides a big social outlet for them. And getting to go away like this all together they’re going to have a great time. So am I.”

Still, Delaney says she won’t have much time for many social activities before she competes, because she needs to focus on her events. And that dedication usually pays off.

“It’s worth it when you bring it home,” she says.

Delaney has been involved in Special Olympics since 2014. When she graduated from high school, she was in a transition program at Verge House in Bridgewater for people with developmental delays.

She met a friend there who told her she should try snowshoeing.

“When she went to Verge House it opened up a whole new world,” Inglis says.

“She ended up going to the (Nova Scotia) winter games that year and came home with three medals and she was hooked and then I was hooked too.”

Inglis and Delaney say it would be great if more people would get involved with Special Olympics locally. 

“I just wish more athletes would come for Special Olympics, we need more athletes,” Delaney says.

“It is a wonderful place to volunteer,” Inglis says. “I obviously got involved because Rebecca was involved but it’s something that just draws people in, the enthusiasm. When you volunteer with Special Olympics you feel like you a member of the royal family or a rock star because everybody is always so excited to see you.”

The games in Calgary are also a chance to qualify for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in March 2025 in Torino, Italy. For now, though, Delaney says she’s focused on doing well in Calgary and having fun.

And she doesn’t plan to retire any time soon.

“Probably a long time till I want to give up. Because it’s fun, I get to socialize with people.”

And you can help too. Buy a Special Olympics donut from Tim Hortons Feb. 2 to 4 and 100 per cent of the proceeds support programs and athletes across Canada.

Delaney, Inglis and the rest of the team plan to leave for Calgary on Feb. 25 to have a day or two before the Games begin. And after the closing ceremonies, all of Team Nova Scotia will visit Lake Louise and Banff before they head home.

If you want to get involved with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens as a volunteer or as an athlete, contact the group through their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Inaugural Olympic Wall inductees. Photo Ed Halverson

Seven of Queens most prominent sports figures were honoured Tuesday.

An Olympic Wall was unveiled at Queens Place to recognize residents who have represented Canada at the highest level of amateur sport.

The seven inaugural inductees included two coaches Betty Ann Daury and Owen Hamlin, and five athletes: Jamie Belong, Jenna Martin, Sarah Mitton, Alexander Shankel, and Ben Theriau.

Jenna Martin, a 400-meter sprinter at the 2012 Olympic games who now lives with her husband and children in Washington state, reflected on coming back to her roots.

“There’s nothing like being from a small town because they love you through thick and thin,” said Martin. “They’re with you, every time they see you it’s a celebration. It brings the community together. So, it’s really, really special and it gave me the opportunity to come home and visit my family.”

Martin says coming from a small community doesn’t have to be barrier to reaching your goals.

Shot putter, Sarah Mitton, who competed in her first Olympics in Tokyo Japan in 2020 agrees with Martin.

She says it’s consistently putting in the hard work that can lift someone from their local field to the world’s biggest stage.

“I actually got to throw at the Brooklyn Park again yesterday. There’s no circle, there’s no toe board, it’s graffiti on the ground. It’s really humbling to come back from all these large meets where everything is set out so perfectly, and to be able to come back to the community that you grew up in and just realize how little it actually takes and we how much more we can build on that,” said Mitton.

Both Olympians were honoured to have their images displayed on the wall where anyone arriving at Queens Place can see.

They hope they can be an example to the next round of athletes and coaches coming up in Queens that you can make your dreams come true.

As several people noted after the ceremony, there’s plenty of space on the walls for more portraits.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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