Canada Games teams bond over wildfire worries

CBC

16 hours ago

Smoke visible in the sky serves as an ominous reminder. Athletes at the Canada Games in St. John's are feeling the pressure as the effects of the wildfires raging in Newfoundland and Labrador force events to be moved or postponed.
For some visiting athletes, it's the same worrisome situation back home. New Brunswick is also battling several wildfires.
The common bond between the two provinces over a worrisome situation led to an emotional moment between lacrosse teams after their game was postponed on Monday.
Box lacrosse had to move from Paradise — where an evacuation order is in place for a part of the town — to an arena in St. John's.
"There were some emotions, there was some tears, there were some hugs. And it's OK, right? It's OK to live those emotions, and we will try and listen to them," said Nicole Smith, chef de mission for Team New Brunswick.
Smith said competition turns to support for the entire community of athletes, coaches, team staff and families who are dealing with wildfires.
A spokesperson for Team New Brunswick confirmed that the parents of New Brunswick players are fundraising to pay for meals for firefighters in their host province who are battling to bring the fires under control.
'It's OK to enjoy the Canada Games'
Meanwhile, Smith said extra mental health support is available to all athletes, including drop-in counselling services and wellness rooms. Caring for mental health is a shared concern among the team leads of all the provinces and territories.
"The chief medical officer today was telling us, you know, reminding us that those services are there for all of us — athletes, coaches, managers, mission staff," said Smith.
Even the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador had a message for the athletes.
"While we will continue to fight these forest fires over the days and potentially weeks, it's OK to enjoy the Canada Games, it's OK to enjoy all the hard work that you put in here, and deliver over the next couple of weeks," said John Hogan at the opening ceremony on Saturday.
'We hope they know that we're thinking about them'
Meanwhile, Lauren Hale-Miller, coach of New Brunswick's women's beach volleyball team, said a day of heated competition was soon overshadowed by a giant column of smoke that dominated the skyline.
"When we came back for our second match of the day, and we were waiting to get on court, that's when we noticed the smoke coming out, and I think everyone's attention shifted towards that."
Hale-Miller said her job was to reassure the players that it was safe for them to compete unless told otherwise by officials.
She said while her team was "zoned into [their] match," their thoughts were never far from the situation in their home province.
"The wildfires back home definitely hit close to home for our group. So, that's been on on our mind all week, and just thinking about our community back home, and the community here in Newfoundland," said Hale-Miller.