This list ended up being a bit tricky to pick from as a lot of the events I cover end up being around important initiatives.
All of those are great in their own ways and I didn’t want to pick one over the other.
As such, I’ve gone on the safe side with the sports stories that stand out to me, in no particular order.
Carter George’s Memorable Year
Having known members of his family from growing up in the Sault Ste. Marie curling scene, it was great to finally get to chat with the Thunder Bay netminder, most notably after he won gold with Canada at the World Under-18’s and after he was picked by the Los Angeles Kings at this year’s NHL Draft.
His incredible 2024 has also seen him score a goal and be named to Canada’s world junior team. Although his Owen Sound Attack aren’t having a great year, George has established himself as one of the best young goaltenders in the country.
Mitch Marner Comes to Town
“Hey Lucas, you want to meet Mitch Marner?”
Sure?
More of a situation of being at the right place at the right time when Marner came for a Thunder Bay Border Cats game. I may have made his day by talking about watching him play at the 2016 Memorial Cup for the London Knights in Red Deer instead of the usual drama about the Toronto Maple Leafs that he has to deal with from the media on a daily basis.
Thunder Bay Official at Olympics
Daryle Martin’s a familiar face for those who follow swimming locally and she got to experience the sports’ biggest stage this summer as an on deck official at the Olympics in Paris. It was the fulfillment of a dream for Martin and you could easily tell how much the experience meant to her.
Women’s Baseball World Cup
Japan ended up winning the tournament for the seventh straight time back in August, but the job that Thunder Bay did in hosting the event stood out the most. The support for Canada on their road to the bronze medal was great to see as well.
Visually Impaired Golfer Impresses on National Stage
Nipigon’s Hayden Foulds is a very inspiring young man. After losing complete vision in 2020, he returned to playing golf in 2022 and hasn’t looked back since. He went to his first national competition this summer and ended up finishing in second place. If you don’t have any emotions after learning about his story, I don’t think you're human.