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Hundreds of athletes from across the country, including 19 from southwest Saskatchewan, are in Newfoundland as the Canada Summer Games start today.
For Swift Current Special Olympics swim coach Jackie Powell it's her sixth appearance at the summer games.
"The vast organization of putting together a multi-spot competition," Powell said. "It's all the logistics that go behind it. The food services is incredible and all the volunteers. It's pretty cool to see that all come together and for me as a coach to appreciate all that goes on behind the scenes."
Powell has four swimmers from Swift Current Special Olympics coming with her to St. John's.
"It's pretty cool to be able to represent your province," Powell said. "All of the athletes are really excited. Some get a little bit nervous or a lot nervous. This is a big deal. It's a huge honour for them and just helping them work through those jitters and stuff so they can still perform to their best."
Her team of Swift Current area athletes consists of Rahimay Priebe, Avery Underhill, Tate Zimmerman, and Chayce Foster.
"They're excited," Powell said. "They've got their uniforms. The pride the athletes take in that is pretty awesome."
The four swimmers are competing in five races.
They are the 50 freestyle, 50 backcrawl, 50 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, and 100 backcrawl.
"They've been working hard," Powell noted. "We've had a couple of training camps. We just had one a couple of weeks ago with the full swim team."
Any finish contributes a certain number of points to Team Saskatchewan's totals.
"We've been working on calming the nerves but also refining some of the skills they've been working on in the pool," Powell said. "It'll be a huge eye opener for all of them.
"The athletes get points regardless of how they place. The higher the place, the more points you get, so it still contributes to the overall team goal."
The whole list of southwest athletes on Team Saskatchewan includes:
Rowan Reimer (Swift Current) Track
Carter Tuplin (Swift Current) Track
Mason Fauser (Shaunavon) Baseball
Kai Foster (Swift Current) Lacrosse
Adriaan De Necker (Kyle) Rugby Sevens
Griffin Striker (Swift Current) Soccer
Navy Louma (Swift Current) Soccer
Chayce Foster (Gull Lake) Swimming
Tate Zimmerman (Swift Current) Swimming
Rohimay Priebe (Swift Current) Swimming
Avery Underhill (Swift Current) Swimming
Kash Meyers (Lucky Lake) Volleyball
Former Swift Current resident Aidan Kilshaw, now playing in Saskatoon, also made the baseball team.
The coaches include Powell in swimming, Tyler Piercey-Servant as a swimming participant assistant, Steve Michaluk in lacrosse, Brad Clifford for cycling, and Brittany Mashall for beach volleyball.
Local products Anne Weisgerber and Denise Levorson are part of the mission staff.