OFF AND RUNNING AT YOG 

NEWFOUNDLAND’S LOCKE & PERRY WIN OPENING MATCH AT YOUTH OLYMPICS 

Although, the Youth Olympic Games are in Gangwon, South Korea there was no doubt a huge contingent of Newfoundlanders tuning in on the live stream. 

Cailey Locke (Conception Bay South, N.L.) and Simon Perry (Portugal Cove, N.L.) hit the ice as Canada’s Mixed Doubles entry on Saturday, getting the competition started against host South Korea. Luckily, one of Canada’s streamed games was also the only draw time that makes for a reasonable viewing hour at home (9:30 pm in St. John’s). 

The Canadians did not let the viewers down, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on Korea’s Chaewon and Jihun Lee after the first end on a perfect draw to the button by Locke. 

“Cailey’s draw for three in the first end was for sure the most important,” said Perry. “We totally took momentum after that and ran with it. It helped us to settle in too.” 

“Settle in” might be an understatement. Canada stole two more in the second, forced a single in the third, then took three more in the fourth. Up 8-1 at halftime, the Canadians were in full control. They didn’t look back and finished the opening draw with a 9-5 win. 

“I definitely had a few shakes at the start but Cailey was dialed in. Nerves of steel.” said Perrry. “Of course there’s pressure now that we have the maple leaf on our backs, we have a whole country to represent but we do a good job of remembering to play for ourselves and stay in the moment. “ 

The duo will play four more games in the round-robin stage, with two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. With 20 teams in the event, the schedule breaks down to just one game a day. 

Team Canada is supported by coaches Helen Radford and Jeff Hoffart, along with members of the Canadian Olympic Committee staff.  

“It felt so amazing to get on the ice wearing the Maple Leaf,” said Perry. “These are the jerseys we’ve watched our idols wear for years, so it’s impossible to put how excited we are into words.” 

Locke and Perry will face Hungary on Sunday, followed by Nigeria on Monday.  

Perhaps surprisingly, Hungary has an impressive record at recent Mixed Doubles world championships. Nigeria, on the other hand, is making their first appearance at a world event. 

Locke and Perry are looking to replicate the success that Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris had in the same building during the 2018 Olympic Games, winning Canada the first gold medal ever awarded in Mixed Doubles.  

“I remember watching that game in my grade 6 – or maybe 7 – classroom, and just eating it up,” said Perry. “They played so well, and it was so exciting. It made me want to come here.” 

The Mixed Doubles competition will wrap up on February 1, the last day of the Games. 

Some games are streaming on http://www.youtube.com/olympics and https://olympics.com/en/gangwon-2024/. CBC has daily highlights on http://cbcsports.ca 

Scores, standings, and schedules can be found here: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/