NORTH RED DEER, Alta. — The day after Jess Cranton of Belleisle won a silver medal in figure skating at the Canada Winter Games, she was getting ready to go snow tubing at Canyon Creek and finally get to see the village.
“But no one but me is up yet,” she said. “I’m still on Nova Scotia time.”
After all the hard work, she’s gets to relax and even has a couple of days left in Alberta.
The day before, Feb. 28, was the big one. As a Level III Special Olympics singles skater, she was up against the best in Canada, but it wasn’t so much the skating she was nervous about, it was waiting to find out where she placed that was nerve wracking.
“I actually didn’t know the placings until our team manager told me,” she said. “I was more nervous waiting for the placements because it was a really close group of girls I was skating against. I was a little overwhelmed because there was a lot happening all at once.”
She said it felt amazing to know all her hard work and that of her coaches Cheryle Gaston and Bradley Keeping-Myra and others had paid off.
The 27-year-old skater trains in Greenwood and Halifax.
Skating
Cranton skated late in the day Nova Scotia time, and was second to Laurence Blondeau of Drummondville, Quebec.
“I’m not really sure nervous is the right word,” she said. “I get a rush of adrenaline but I always get off and pace to calm myself down. It’s more a routine for me at competitions and my coach Cheryle always gives me hugs so if I’m nervous I’m never nervous for long because I know how to deal with it.”
Cranton, now a veteran of two Canada Games, believes the Games are about more than just sports.
“My final Canada Games experience has been filled with moments of friendship and community,” she said. “From finding a way to communicate with my new friend from Quebec who only speaks Frence, to reconnecting with my friends from Newfoundland, to meeting new friends from B.C. and Saskatchewan and cheering on my friends from New Brunswick.”
Cranton is an educational assistant at Lawrencetown Consolidated School, and works with young children every day where her enthusiasm is infectious. It was no different in Red Deer.
“Getting to know my teammates and all the coaches has been an amazing experience as well,” she said. “I value community and connection. Canada Games has been that and more. I’ve also done quite a bit of pin trading. It’s just been a beyond amazing experience.”
Team N.S.
While she’s made friends from across the country, Cranton hasn’t watched a lot of the Games.
“I, as a rule, do not watch my fellow competitors compete, but I watched every single one of my fellow Team N.S. figure skaters compete,” she said. “I haven’t really seen any other sports (because) the training schedule has been pretty tight. I have Friday and Saturday off to explore though.”
She’s had lots of fun already.
“I definitely went shopping and bought more Canada Games swag than I should of, but it’s no secret I love to shop,” she said. “The only item I haven’t gotten yet is an orange toy car for my two-year-old niece who has been asking me, via FaceTime since I left, to bring one home.”
Her skating plans are to keep training just as hard as she has been.
“I have a fun competition coming up in two weeks and I have a bigger one in April,” she said. “I will also attend a qualifying round for Special Olympics 2019 nationals. I’ve already a list of things to work on.”
Cranton said she has a figure skating bucket list a mile long.
“I have no intention of slowing down,” she said. “My goal has always been Worlds and I’m on the right track.”
