SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
Brooks resident Jennifer Oakes, who returned with a bronze Paralympic medal in sitting volleyball, is thrilled and honoured to have represented her home and country at the international event.
“Seeing the effect on the community is super heartwarming for me,” she said during a family and friends get together on Sunday.
“I’m really happy to represent Brooks, Alberta and Canada.”
She told The Bulletin, “We are so proud of our program and how we came out to compete in that game.
“It was so good to have everything come together and bring home Canada’s first medal in sitting volleyball.”
The cohesiveness of the team was obvious on the court which Oakes attributes to most of the team having been together for a long time.
“We have built a high performance environment together and within that we have high expectations and trust in each other. It truly helped us in this tournament especially in the bronze game,” she said.
Team Canada did reach for a gold medal, however, bringing home any medal is a goal.
“I think as an athlete you always have gold on the mind, but really, to bring home any medal was our goal.”
Canada moved into the bronze medal game after losing the semi-final to Team China, a well polished team.
“They have been one of the best teams since the beginning of sitting volleyball and they really showed up against us. I am just so grateful for the growth of our team and getting that medal in the end.”
On Oct. 19 Girls Who Lead and the city will host Celebrating Women and Girls in Movement.
The $20 program is aimed for girls from six-years-of age and over. It will include Oakes and Olympic hurdler Sage Watson who will discuss their success.
Call the city for ticket information.
“Getting girls and women into sport is something that I’m pretty passionate about. I think it’s really affected my life,” said Oakes.
