North Battleford will be the centre of attention in the province next week as the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games taking over the community.

Team South West features 61 local athletes, including four synchronized swimmers from the Moose Jaw Aqua Otters Club.

12-year-old Claire Woloschuk said she’s really looking forward to the Games, “I’m very excited, it’s the biggest competition that I’ve gone to as a swimmer, so it’s going to be very exciting,” she said.

Woloschuk will be joined by teammates Emma-Leigh Vancoughnett, Taiya Carpentier and Tatiana Vickaryous on the Team South West synchronized swimming team.

The group has been preparing all year for the games and they’re happy that they’re finally here.

“We’ve been practicing hard and doing more drills, we’re as prepared as we can be,” said Vancoughnett.

Getting their routine down and making sure everyone is on the same page has been the focus of the preparation for the Aqua Otters. Woloschuk said they’ve got it down and are ready to go.

“Our routine is fire themed, it’s very different than what we’ve been doing in past years, so I’m looking forward to competing and doing something new,” she said. “We’ve been practicing for a long time to get ready.”

There will be athletes from around the province taking part in Saskatchewan’s version of the Winter Olympics.

The local swimmers have their eyes on bringing back some hardware to Moose Jaw from the Games.

“I’m just excited to compete with my team, it’s our first Winter Games, so it’s pretty exciting for all of us,” said Carpentier. “We’ve been a bit behind on a few things, but we’re going to do good.”

The synchronized swimming portion of the Winter Games starts on Monday and wraps up on Wednesday at the Battlefords Coop Aquatic Centre.

Moose Jaw Well Represented at Games

Team South West is made up of athletes from Moose Jaw, Swift Current and the area surrounding the two cities.

The Friendly City is going to have plenty of athletes to cheer on at this year’s Winter Games in North Battleford with 61 athletes making up the contingent.

The largest group is the bowling team, which features ten local bowlers, including: Tristan Olson, Jermine McKenzie, Jackson Leroy, Hunter Shaw and Connor Johnson on the male side; and Tristan Smith, Kendra White, Cassia Montgomery, Raelynn White and Annisten Halvorsen on the women’s team.

Calvin Schaaf, Thomas Ozaruk, Theron Shanks and Kile Wilson will also make up the Special Olympics bowling squad.

The speed skating team is mostly coming from Moose Jaw with Tye Nicolson, Kaeleb Tabin and Jesse Cline taking part in the male competition. Molly Morris, Morgan Capili, Avery Seman, Ashley Henennfent, Kiara Benson and Mickayla Carle will be competing in the female events, along with Caronport’s Isabella Korthuis and Holdfast’s Gracie Reynoldson.

Moose Jaw will have two athletes — Thomas Daintree and Eben Thomas — in male biathlon.

The Skylar Ackerman rink will be representing the South West in female curling. The team is made up of skip Skylar Ackerman from Moose Jaw, Madison Johnson from Saskatoon, Chantel Hoag from Gravelbourg and Samantha McLaren from Moose Jaw.

In figure skating, Eric Swalm will represent Moose Jaw on the male side, while Camryn Ferguson, Mitike Cridland, Kalista Brown, Tyrae Wiebe, Olivia Mowchenko and Miheret Cridland will skate in the female competition.

Shaine Closs and Jaicee Maruska will be competing in gymnastics.

Four Moose Jaw players and one from Mossbank are on the female hockey team with Larissa Bohlken, Ellie Gauvin, Makayla Anderson, Sidney Ellingson and Tia Miller all suiting up for Team South West.

In male hockey, Jayden Watterson, Carter Price, Brennan Blatz, Hunter Bowes and Mitchell Parr will be playing for Team South West.

Justin Wiens, Abigale Dore and Avery Gibney will be representing Moose Jaw in judo.

Wiens will actually also be at the Games in male wrestling, along with Kyle Yamniuk and Connor Rowsell.  Hannah Watt is heading on the female side.

Matthew Ellingson is heading to the Games in table tennis.

In target shooting, Derek Robinson and Chris Robinson are taking part in the male competition, while Katherine Coupland and Clarisa Welsh compete on the female side. Assiniboia’s McKenna Brandt and Kyla Prefontaine will also be in the event.

The Winter Games will kick-off with the opening ceremonies on Sunday night at 7 p.m. at the Battlefords Civic Centre. Then the sports kick into high gear on Monday with the closing ceremonies set for next Saturday.

Click here for the full schedule.