Local athletes did this northern mining town proud this past weekend at the 2026 Ontario Summer Games as a healthy haul of gold, silver and bronze medals made their way back home.

Volleyball accounted for a pair of medals as Lively native Maddy Field and Team "D" battled their way from a 3rd place seeding following pool play (beach and indoor combined), getting on a roll in day three to win gold while Breeze Osawamick and Team "C" took home bronze.

Truly a great experience for the young athletes for a variety of reasons, Field suggested the structure of the volleyball competition at the Summer Games was particularly helpful as the incoming freshman at Lockerby Composite looks for on-going development in her game.

“It was harder because I had to get used to every position,” said the 14 year old middle with the Northern Chill Volleyball Club, with OSG favouring a 6/6 format. “Once I got used to it, it all came back to me and I got my serve receive better – and defense and everything.”

“I think it helped out team out a lot that we had a lot of girls who could play a lot of different positions.”

With day one devoted to beach play and day two making the shift to completing the full round robin format on the indoor courts, Field and her crew sat with ten points, behind both Team "J" (13 points), Team "C" (11) and deadlocked with Team "E" at ten.

With top six now in medal contention on Sunday, the eventual gold medal winners swept past Team "H" (6th place), knocked off Team "C" in three sets and stopped Team "E" in the final.

With 120 of the top female players in the province gathered for a week-long pre-Games camp in Guelph prior to OSG 2026, Field was thrilled to find out that she more than belonged with those at this level.

“It was hard because there were a lot more competitive athletes there – but it made it way more fun too,” said Field, who partnered with Brielle Larose from Maverick Outlaws (Ottawa) for the beach battles on Friday.

“I did not recognize anyone, but a lot of the girls recognized me,” Field added with a smile.

A very good all-around athlete, Field was also the grade 8 girls high jump champion at the Rainbow Board Champions Meet in June, representing Lively District Secondary School. And for as much as soaring higher and higher in the air benefits both her primary and secondary sport, the 5’9.5” standout noted that the transition is not completely seamless.

“They have their similarities and their differences: but it’s generally more different than similar,” said Field. “In high-jump, you are jumping forward and over something. In volleyball, you want to stay in one spot when you are jumping.”

Remaining members of the Chill VC who were named to the rosters of the 2026 Ontario Summer Games, competing in Kitchener-Waterloo on the long weekend included Adèle Gervais and Allison Davies (both on Team "I") as well as boys representatives Cameron Desrochers and Skylar Trottier from the Northern Chill Blizzards.