Matt Hendry
Answers From Matt
What was your favorite part of being an athlete at the Saskatchewan Winter Games?
The Games were a huge confidence booster for me. For the first time I felt like a real athlete.
What didn't you like about being an athlete at the SWG?
The shooting venue wasn’t exactly close to the food services so it was kind of a hassle to go eat. Lots of times we just waited until the end of the day and ate when we had finished competing.
What is your best SWG memory?
The feeling I got after shooting in the finals and wining the gold medal.
What is your worst SWG memory?
It was like minus 45 all week, but what can you do… its Saskatchewan.
What was the bus ride to the Games like?
The bus ride was a lot of fun. Our bus wasn’t even close to full so when the card game my teammates and I were playing turned into a physical war of card throwing, we pretty much took over the entire bus. I don’t think we ever managed to find all the missing cards.
Can you describe what it was like when you first arrived at the athlete’s village?
It was really cold but once I got over that I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed because everyone was wearing a team uniform.
Did you like the "walkout" uniforms?
I liked the uniforms. They really helped me feel like I was part of the team even though I barely knew any of the people wearing the same uniform as me.
Do you think Melfort did a good job "hosting" the Games?
Melfort did a fantastic job. At first I was surprised by how early we had to get up to compete but as I’ve continued with shooting I now know early mornings are standard in my sport.
What was it like to sleep in a high school, in bunk beds with a room full of strangers?
The bunk bed thing was pretty cool. Because we were all thrown into a room together I got to know a lot of my teammates from other sports. I know I keep bringing up the temperature but my sleeping bag was a little too heavy duty so I ended up being way too hot every night.
What was it like to eat cafeteria food before every competition?
The food was fantastic! There was always lots of variety and lots of food, it was awesome. The food was definitely delicious when we did get a chance to eat it.
How would you describe your team's spirit at the Games?
The whole team was awesome, everybody was just so excited to be there, we were all very supportive of each other.
Because you competed in the second half of the Games you got to attend the closing ceremonies. What were they like?
The closing ceremonies were great, they had slides of some of the different sports and they showed a really cool picture of me shooting like three or four times throughout the ceremonies.
To learn more about Matt’s success click on the link below: http://www.commonwealthgames.ca/Games/index_e.aspx?articleID=1713
