www.pgcitizen.ca
Andrea JOHNSON Citizen staff ajoh.nson@pgcitizen.ca
Prince George was aglow Friday night as it welcomed athletes and their fans from across the country.
The opening ceremonies at CN Centre kicked off the 2015 Canada Winter Games, signalling the start of 14 days of competition in 19 different sports.
The Games is the largest multisport competition for young athletes from all 10 provinces and three territories.
Games organizers said Friday’s ceremony was a chance for Prince George to tell its own unique northern story and invite people to “journey with us.”
As athletes marched in alphabetically by province, they danced, they waved their flags, even did somersaults, capturing the moments on their mobile phones.
They received large roars of applause. Host Team B.C. marched in
last and received a standing ovation.
By the end of the athlete parade, the floor and stands behind the stage at CN Centre was a mosaic of red, turquoise, burgundy, blue and green, from Team Manitoba’s bright yellow jackets to Team Alberta’s flashing lights on their blue and white toques.
Athletes received a warm welcome from the Lheidli T’enneh, the first-ever official host First Nation named for a Canada Games.
Prince George was framed as a hub city at the crossroads of two rivers, two major highways and a railway as a cast of local dancers celebrated the outdoor lifestyle and the rich culture of Prince George.
As local band Bright City Heights sang Aurora, the Games unofficial anthem, the audience and athletes used a 2015 Winter Games app that depicted the Northern Lights.
O Canada was first performed in the Carrier language by Lheidli T’enneh, followed by Andy Beesley’s rendition.
— see PRINCE GEORGE’S, page 3
Ep
\
J
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
As much as the unseasonably warm weather this week has caused headaches for organizers of the 2015 Canada Winter Games, Prince George might as well be Mexico to Hayden Hickey and the rest of the short track speed skating team from Nunavut.
Anything’s a holiday when you can say goodbye to -66 C cold.
An hour before they left for the Games, the temperature in their hometown of Iqaluit was -59 C and with the wind chill it felt like the wrong side of the high sixties. So coming to P.G., where it was a balmy 5 C on Friday, felt like springtime to the 15-year-old Hickey.
“It’s a lot warmer here,” Hickey said. “We had an extreme cold warning of -60 C before we left, every single community in Nunavut had an extreme
cold warning of at least -55 C or below. We were glad to leave.”
Short track starts Sunday with the 1,500m event.
“It’s going to be exciting, with lots of competition, trying to get some best times, skating against Quebec,” said the 15-year-old Hickey. “My goal is just times and trying to keep up to everybody else, not necessarily medals. I skated today and the arena is warmer which makes it harder to skate but the ice is really nice. It should be good skating.”
Assuming it gets cold enough to freeze ice, Hickey hopes to have time to check out long track speed skating for outdoor oval at Exhibition Park, which he’s never live seen before.
His teammate Tyler Kirk, 17, has competed in three Arctic Winter Games but says nothing compares with what he and the four-skater Nunavut team is in for over the next week at Lakeland Dental Arena.
“This is totally way bigger than that,” said Kirk. “I’ve trained a lot this year.”
Their coach Kyle St. Laurent celebrates his 29th birthday today and can’t think of better venue to help celebrate while representing Nunavut.
“This is my first time at a Canada Winter Games and it’s been really great, the city has been overly friendly to us,” said St. Laurent. “In a city this size, people aren’t usually that friendly to you.
“I’m looking forward to having my skaters beat their personal bests. The main thing is beating their best times, coming down here and have fun and meet new people. This is their first time at a Canada Games and they aren’t likely to win medals.”
Wheelchair basketball athlete Michael Kilonzo of Mississauga, Ont., and his Ontario team open their tournament Monday against Saskatchewan.
“I’ve never been here and it’s a small community but everyone is really nice here,” said Kilonzo. “We have a good team and we’re really close-knit, we don’t just play for this one tournament. We are like a good bunch of friends and we’ve been together for years.” Kilonzo says people who have never seen wheelchair basketball are in for a few surprises when they come to the court at Duchess Park secondary school.
“People don’t think about the contact or how fast-paced wheelchair basketball is,” he said. “There’s lots of contact and it has the same rules as standup basketball. The nets are the same height, there’s dribbling, it’s just modified a bit for the chair.”
His teammate Hisham Mohammad of Whitby, Ont., knows Avril Harris of Prince George, an able-bodied member of the B.C. team and can’t wait to get rolling on Ontario’s medal quest.
— ‘IT’S TRULY, page 3
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Games Chair Anthony Everett and local athlete Morgan Aucoin light the torch, signaling the start of the 2015 Canada Winter Games, during the opening ceremonies at CN Centre Friday.
Today's Weather
Hi+4° Low -3°
See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts
ANNIE'S MAILBOX 37 NEWS 1-5
BRIDGE 37 B.C. 7
HOROSCOPE 2 CANADA 13-16
COMICS 38-40 WORLD 17-19
CROSSWORD 38 SPORTS 9-12
CLASSIFIEDS 25-28 TRAVEL 32
OPINION 6 AT HOME 33-35
Contact Us
CLASSIFIED: 250-562-6666 READER SALES: 250-562-3301 SWITCHBOARD: 250-562-2441
0 58307 00200
058307002005