Saskatchewan Winter Games come to an end

It was a week of triumphs at the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games.

The sporting showcase brought around 1,800 athletes and coaches to Regina with the goal of leaving with a gold medal.

One of the talented athletes who ended up topping the podium was 12-year-old Taelyn Maksymiw in the individual all-around gymnastics competition.

“It was really exciting and cool. I loved the experience. It was intimidating. I didn’t think I would make it out on top,” Maksymiw said. “I’m glad my teammates were there to hold us all together.

For the Saskatchewan Winter Games, Maksymiw’s coach was 18-year-old Josie Tunison, who was ecstatic to see her gymnast top the podium.

“It was absolutely amazing. I was so proud of her,” Tunison said. “She works so hard and she trains incredibly hard and she is so supportive of her team. You can see her having fun out there.”

Maksymiw trains out of the Queen City Gymnastics Club with her club coach, Olga Roschupkina.

“(Maksymiw) puts lots of effort into her training,” Tunison said. “She works hard at training and is always putting in 100 per cent effort into whatever she is doing.”

Tunison believes the experience is one that athletes should try to have.

“When you move on to higher competitions, you have that baseline of experience,” Tunison said.

The Games officially came to an end Saturday, with the Saskatoon district leading the way with 98 medals (41 gold, 30 silver and 27 bronze).

Regina had 69 medals, Prairie Central won 51, South West earned 37, Rivers West had 36, Lakeland took home 34, Parkland Valley earned 27, South East won 20 and North claimed five.

The Games have been years in the making, with planning beginning back in 2021 for the event to be held in 2022.

“Almost two months before, we had to cancel due to COVID and then we decided to postpone and push them to 2023,” Amber Holland, the vice-president of the hosting committee, said earlier in the week. “It’s a long-standing joke around here we are the longest-serving organizing committee in the history of the Saskatchewan Games because we have been at this for almost three years.”

And it wasn’t just the athletes that will see an impact from the Games.

“Past Games have yielded around several million (dollars) in economic impact,” said Valerie Sluth, the chair of the organizing committee. “We expect this one to be more because we’ve seen more families come just because it’s in a major centre.”

And while the week has come to an end, Holland said it was a great experience for all.

“To see the athletes here and get this experience is why we all signed up to volunteer for this gig. Now getting to see that was worth the extra year of planning,” Holland said.