Athletes 'ecstatic, excited' for Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Corner Brook

Tuesday night will see the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Corner Brook, and local athletes are revving up for the competition.

Athletes from across Canada have arrived in Corner Brook for a week of competition.

Kim McDonald-Wilkes, the chef de mission with Team Newfoundland and Labrador, says this is the first time the event has been hosted in the province and the athletes competing are getting pumped.

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"Ecstatic, excited, full of energy," is how she describes the province's athletes.

The Games are also an opportunity for local athletes to meet fellow competitors from across the country, and reunite with old friends.

"It's one thing to compete at a national level — I mean, they're very excited obviously to do that, and to be able to do it on home soil is just even better," McDonald-Wilkes told CBC Radio's Corner Brook Morning Show.

"And this is the first time in history that Special Olympics Canada National Winter Games has even been hosted in Newfoundland [and Labrador]. So it's not only on home soil, but it's the first time for everybody, for us as hosts."

She said the 44 local athletes are wide ranging in both experience and age, and a lot of them are new competitors.

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"We have a very high number actually of newbies on our team, so we're very excited. Just to give you a quick example, our youngest athlete, Jessica Greeley, who's a snowshoer from Mount Pearl. She's 13 and this is her first time on a national stage."

"And our most seasoned athlete is Barry Escott from St. John's, he's one of our curlers, and Barry's 70 years old and this is his first time on a national stage."

McDonald-Wilkes is hoping N.L. will have some representation in Austria for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2017, and has high hopes for the floor hockey team, which she said is ranked one of the top 10 in Canada.

Tuesday's opening ceremonies start at 7 p.m. at the Corner Brook Civic Centre. The games run from March 1 to 5.