Although the summer term is considered a period of rest by some, for many Queen’s athletes, it’s only another season in which they can continue to generate headlines.

This past summer, evidently, was no exception.

Whether it was overseas in Tokyo, on the shores of Kingston, or even in a virtual Esports arena, many Queen’s student-athletes continued to demonstrate excellence in their respective fields this summer.

With the highly-anticipated return of regularly scheduled varsity sports arriving in the coming weeks, The Journal’s sports section is recapping some of these accomplishments—as well as other sports-related news from the University—before the summer term comes to a close.

Queen’s Athletes and Alumni at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics

Evidently the highlight of many a Gael’s summer viewing, nearly a dozen athletes competed in the Summer Games who were either incoming, current, or former students at Queen’s. One alumna, Stef Reid, ArtSci ’06, competed in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Spread out amongst rowing, wrestling, rugby, sailing, cycling, cross country/track, and the Olympic marathon event, no Queen’s athletes or alumni achieved a podium finish. However, many still garnered recognition in their respective fields.

Gavin Stone, Sci ’22, was part of the Canadian men’s four rowing team which placed second in the Final B category. Haley Smith, ArtSci ’16, was one of only two Canadians who competed in the mountain bike cycling event. Alexandra Ten Hove, Sci ’19, had four top-10 finishes and one fourth-place finish in the 12-race series of the 49er FX sailing event. Hove fell just short of qualifying for the final medal race.

Queen’s Sailors power through Sail Canada’s Youth Championships

From Jul. 26-29, three members of the Queen’s Sailing team—Liam Bruce, ArtSci ’22, Scott Gittens, Sci’ 23, and Clara Gravely, ArtSci ’22—competed at Sail Canada’s International Laser Class Association (ILCA) Youth Championships in Kingston. The competition was hosted by CORK, the annual local Kingstonian sailing festival. 50 different teams from around Ontario and Quebec were in attendance.

Bruce and Gittens competed in the ILCA 7 division, which featured a field of 26 “Club 420” style sailboats. Bruce finished in second place, earning a silver medal, and Gittens crossed the line in an admirable 13^th place. In the ILCA 6 division, Gravely sliced through the competition, arriving third on the podium in a field of 44 vessels—18 more than Bruce and Gittens’ division.

Queen’s Esports places second in U Sports Gaming’s Preliminary Tournament

The Queen’s Esports team competed in its first gaming tournament of the 2021-2022 season, placing second behind Ontario Tech University after losing a best-of-three “Valorant” match on Aug. 21.

The tournament, which was preliminary in nature, was the inaugural ‘U Sports Gaming’ event, a new competition league jointly-produced by U Sports—Canada’s nationally-scaled varsity athletics organization—and CSL Esports, North America’s largest Esports league operator. The first non-exhibition event for U Sports Gaming, which Queen’s is expected to attend, is slated to occur later this fall.

Other news from the University

On Aug. 12, Queen’s joined a host of other Ontario post-secondary institutions in mandating vaccinations for any students planning to attend in-person classes in the upcoming academic year. This mandate extends to all individuals involved in varsity athletics—be they athletes, coaches, athletic therapists, support staff, or any other employee of Athletics and Recreation.

Queen’s announced Aug. 4 that it will play host to both the Men’s and Women’s Rugby U Sports National Championships this year, scheduled to take place from Nov. 24-28 and Nov. 10-14, respectively. On Aug. 5, the university said it will be hosting the U Sports Championships for Women’s Basketball in March—a first for Queen’s.