Sailor Siobhan MacDonald and paddler Zane Clarke will carry the Nova Scotia flag at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg.
The flag-bearers were announced during the team’s pep rally today, July 8, in Halifax.
Ms. MacDonald, a Mabou native currently studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., will carry the flag for the opening ceremonies on July 28 in Winnipeg. She is a double amputee who will compete in the 2.4mR para-sailing event, in which she placed fourth in Sherbrooke in 2013.
“I feel pretty shocked, honestly, just because I know what phenomenal, phenomenal athletes we have on Team Nova Scotia,” said Ms. MacDonald. “It’s hard to put into words how proud I am to lead us into the opening ceremonies in Winnipeg. I still have to pinch myself. I’m just really, really excited.”
Mr. Clarke, a member of the national U23 kayak team and multi-gold medal winner at nationals, will carry the Nova Scotia flag at the closing ceremonies on Aug. 13. This will be his third Canada Games, having represented Manitoba in 2009 and Nova Scotia in 2013 (winning a gold medal). He was not able to attend the pep rally because of his national team commitments.
“Selecting the flag-bearers is never an easy task and this year was no different,” said Stephen Gallant, chef de mission for Team Nova Scotia. “The competition was tough but Siobhan and Zane are extremely deserving and great representatives for the province. They are medal hopefuls and, more importantly, community-minded athletes who are great examples of what determination, hard work and perseverance can accomplish.”
Team Nova Scotia coaches and managers nominated flag-bearer candidates and a committee evaluated the nominees on several criteria, including athletic and academic accomplishments, community work and character. Team Nova Scotia has about 425 athletes competing in 16 sports during the games.
TSN and RDS will televise 40 hours of live coverage, including the opening and closing ceremonies. For the first time, all sports will be webcast live and Team Nova Scotia will offer a number of Facebook Live events and other coverage at www.facebook.com/teamns .
Nova Scotians can find information and photos about Team Scotia and its athletes at www.teamnovascotia.ca.
They can also follow Team Nova Scotia on social media:
–Twitter, @teamnovascotia
–Facebook, facebook.com/teamns
–Instagram, @teamnovascotia and
–Flickr, Team Nova Scotia 2017
–SnapChat, teamnovascotia (special filters will be available throughout the Games)
Sponsors and partners of Team Nova Scotia include the Government of Nova Scotia, Sport Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries and Casino Corp., Atlantic Lottery Corp. and Karbon Sports.
The Canada Games is the country’s largest amateur multi-sport event. About, 4,000 athletes, coaches and managers will compete in more than 250 events in 16 sports in this year’s games.
For more information on the 2017 Canada Summer Games, visit canadagames.ca/2017/.
Source: Release
