BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

Four area athletes and one local coach captured medals for Quebec during the first week of competition at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

Leading the way was Beaconsfield resident Camille Bowness of the synchronized swimming team, who captured three gold medals, including solo, duet with Marie-Lou Morin and team competition. Meanwhile, Kirkland’s Catherine Powell along with Morin and Lisa Mikelberg, who are not from the West Island, but members of the Dollard des Ormeaux Synchronized Swimming Club, were also part of Quebec’s gold-medal winning team, which by the way was coached by Dollard synchro assistant coach Lynn Piché, a non West Island resident.

Elsewhere during week one, Kirkland’s Eric Gauthier captured a silver medal in the over-100 judo competition while Notre Dame de l’Île Perrot’s Cortney Keeble was part of a bronze-medal winning Quebec ringette team that was coached by Dollard resident Stephan Blackman.

Meanwhile, Kirkland’s Louis Leblanc and Mark Barberio along with Pointe Claire’s Jordon Southorn were part of a men’s hockey team that finished fifth after losing 7-6 to Manitoba in a quarter-final match. Leblanc, a rookie forward for the midget AAA Lac St. Louis Lions, finished the tournament with three goals and three assists.

Week two, which got underway on Sunday, will feature Pierrefonds’ Shawn Moskalewski on the men’s curling team that will be coached by his father, Kim Moskalewski, Senneville’s Guillaume Rodrigue and Kirkland’s Gabrielle Tétrault plying their trade in the ancient sport of fencing, Beaconsfield’s Camille Dumais, Leslie Oles and Laurianne Rougeau along with Ste. Anne de Bellevue’s Stacie Tardif and Pointe Claire’s Alexandra Garcia facing off in women’s hockey, Senneville’s Marie-Michelle Bélanger-Timothy swooshing down the hill in alpine skiing, Kirkland’s Ken Flynn, who will serve as a coach on the squash team and Pierrefonds’ Raphaëlle Viau twisting and twirling in figure skating.