Barriers to sport in N.L. help explain why so few athletes from the province make it to Summer Games

For Newfoundland and Labrador, the Summer Olympics is more like the no-lympics.

Every province is represented at the 2024 Olympic Games except for Newfoundland and Labrador, where athletes haven't made the cut in over two decades.

Paralympic athletes frequently represent N.L. in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. Katarina Roxon of Kippens, N.L., has been named to the Canadian national swim team for her fifth Paralympic Games and is set to compete in Paris. Meanwhile, two-time Paralympic silver medallist Liam Hickey of St. John's has competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, playing Para hockey and wheelchair basketball. 

But Phil Graham was the last athlete to compete in the Summer Olympic Games. Graham, from Corner Brook, rowed in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Though many athletes have tried to qualify for the Summer Games, those involved in Newfoundland and Labrador's sporting community say athletes in the province aren't on an equal playing field compared with those in other parts of the country.

The main barriers are finances and travel.

Catherine Barrett is an artistic swimmer who trained with Team Canada for 2½ years in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

It wasn't without sacrifice. Barrett moved to Toronto at the age of 14 to focus on training. Her parents stayed in N.L.

"I spent all of my high school years living with a teammate and what we call a billet family and was able to continue training there with a variety of teams," Barrett said. 

Sports N.L., the artistic swimming community and her family were pillars of support, she said. It wasn't an ideal circumstance, but it was necessary if she wanted to reach the Olympic level.

"Everything is bigger on the mainland teams," Barrett said. "While we have a really enthusiastic community here, and I wouldn't have gone forward without them, the next step for me was to get up there and get exposed to a larger group of athletes, larger group of coaches and more facilities, gyms … with larger amounts of staff."

Barrett competed on the international level between 2015 and 2021. She never made it to the Tokyo Games but spent years competing internationally. 

She now coaches artistic swimming in St. John's. The barriers she experienced before moving away remain the same for those she coaches.

"It's finances. That is a really large barrier in sport in general," Barrett said. "That barrier of getting out of the province, geographically, we have to fly or boat out of here. And it's a huge financial commitment for families."