January 30, 2023, Charlottetown – Speed Skating PEI has named six short-track speed skaters to the Island’s 2023 Canada Winter Games team. The team, which includes Jane Bruce of Stratford, William Lyons of Rock Barra, Addison Bruce of Stratford and Zack O’Meara, Anderson Arseneau and Saul Grant, all of Charlottetown, will compete during week one of the Games.
Short Track Speed Skating’s Team PEI for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, from left to right: Sarah Taylor (coach), William Lyons, Saul Grant, Addison Bruce, Anderson Arseneau, Jane Bruce, Zack O’Meara, Erika Bradley (apprentice coach). Missing: Mike O’Meara (manager).
The head coach is Sarah Taylor while Mike O’Meara is the manager. Taylor is returning for her third consecutive trip to the Games as the Island’s short track coach, after previously coaching the Island squads in Red Deer, AB and Prince George, BC.
“This has been a challenging Canada Games cycle. The recent seasons of pandemic-related travel restrictions and cancelled competitions weren’t ideal for building race experience. Even this season, we lost all our icetime for a prolonged period in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. So, the team has had to be adaptable, but we’ve been making up ground with racing in Calgary, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes,” said Taylor. “We’re also hoping to maximize home ice advantage in the coming weeks with some training on the new olympic-sized ice surface Rustico. When we hit the ice for the Games, our skaters will be ready for the level of competition and the home crowd will be a huge boost for us. Nobody should be surprised to see some great performances from our team.”
Speed Skating PEI President Eric Reynard congratulated the athletes on behalf of the provincial body. We’re thrilled for this group of skaters as they get ready to wear P.E.I.’s colours and compete with the nation’s best. As the first Island speed skaters to compete at home in the Canada Winter Games, we know they will put their best foot forward in competition and be great ambassadors for our sport on P.E.I.,” said Reynard.
The short track skaters will each participate in four individual events, including the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-metre distances. The 3,000-metre points race will conclude the individual events. P.E.I. will also have a male team in the 3,000-metre relay, an event where the Island’s 2019 team posted a 5th place finish in Red Deer.
Short track events run from February 20 to 25 at the newly minted Eliyahu Wellness Centre at Canada Games Place in North Rustico.
Speed Skating PEI says that its long track team will be announced later this week.
For more information, visit http://speedskatepei.ca/canada-games/.
