NEWS RELEASE
NIAGARA 2022 HOST SOCIETY
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After years of planning, the Niagara 2022 Host Society is ready to welcome the country to Niagara for the largest multi-sport and cultural event in Canada. Featuring 18 sports and over 250 events, including a pair of festivals in Niagara Place and the 13 For 13 Cultural Festival, the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games will host approximately 5,000 up-and-coming Canadian athletes, coaches, and support staff in the Niagara Region from today until Aug.21 for the 28th edition of the Canada Games. These Games mark just the third occasion in the event’s 55-year history that they have been held in the province of Ontario and the first time in 21 years.
Tonight at 8 p.m. inside the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines (available to watch live on the Niagara 2022 website, CBC Gem, CBCSports.ca and Radio-Canada.ca/Sports), the Opening Ceremony will officially mark the beginning of these highly-anticipated 2022 Canada Games. The Opening Ceremony will feature musical performances from five-time JUNO Awards nominee Tim Hicks and Toronto singer-songwriter POESY, who wrote, produced and recorded the anthem of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games titled Steel Heart. Tonight’s festivities will begin with a "Parade of Teams," where the participants will march into the centre, one provincial or territorial team at a time and be led by their chosen flag bearer(s) (see attached bios for a complete list).
Taking place at 19 different venues across Niagara, the 2022 Canada Games will see approximately 5,000 athletes representing Canada’s future generation of Olympians and Paralympians compete in the Niagara Region for the right to be a national champion. Niagara 2022 features an inaugural women’s rugby sevens competition, the return of men’s lacrosse after a 37-year absence from the Games, and the first-ever women's lacrosse competition in the history of Canada Games. Canadians nationwide will be able to watch competitions live and other on-demand content on the 2022 Canada Games streaming platform for free. They will also be able to stream another 100-plus hours of live events on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and Radio-Canada.ca/Sports.
"We couldn’t be more excited to start the 2022 Canada Summer Games tonight and welcome participants from every Canadian province and territory to Niagara," said Doug Hamilton, board chair of the Niagara 2022 Host Society. “After several years of planning and a pandemic that delayed us by a year, we are overjoyed to host a Games that will see the return to sport for so many of our youth and help bring Canadians back together for what promises to be a spectacular celebration.”
“The time has finally come to reunite the nation and see Canada's top young athletes shine on the national stage at the Canada Games,” said Evan Johnston, chair of the Canada Games Council. “We look forward to a transformational Games that will spark greatness in the next generation on and off the field, and we invite all of Canada to follow these incredible athletes and leaders along their journey in Niagara and beyond.”
“Over the next two weeks, all eyes will be on the Niagara Region as it welcomes Canada’s top provincial and territorial athletes,” said the honourable Pascale St-Onge, minister of Sport and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. “As Canada tunes in and the Opening Ceremony sets the tone, I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful work in hosting the 2022 Canada Summer Games. Our government is proud to help make these Games a reality. Good luck to all the athletes competing!”
“On behalf of the Government of Ontario, I am honoured to welcome athletes, coaches, families and spectators from across Canada to our province for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games,” said Neil Lumsden, minister of tourism, culture and sport. “Our government is committed to our athletes, and these Games are an excellent opportunity to showcase Ontario as one of the best places to train, compete and excel in sport. I look forward to the inspiring performances of our athletes. Attendees will remember these Games for years to come.”
“After more than five years of preparation, construction, planning – and an unprecedented global pandemic - I am pleased to welcome the thousands of athletes and coaches, as well as countless more spectators, to our community,” said Jim Bradley, chair of the Niagara Region. “This Opening Ceremony serves not only as a celebration of sport but also a recognition of the hard work of numerous individuals who committed themselves to ensure the 2022 Canada Summer Games will be the most successful to date. I want to thank everyone who made this incredible event possible and express my well wishes to the thousands of athletes who will be competing over the next two weeks.”
“I am extremely honoured to lead a talented and committed Team Ontario at the Canada Games,” said Steve Sevor, Team Ontario’s chef de mission. Sevor is a former captain of the Brock men’s soccer team and the first-ever black chef de mission for Team Ontario since the inception of the Canada Games in 1967. “Our goal is that Team Ontario members perform to the best of their ability while upholding the team’s values. By doing so, I am confident that our team will be a gracious host and achieve many personal bests along the way. From coaches, managers, support staff, and mission staff, we are thrilled that our athletes now have the opportunity to demonstrate all of their hard work and dedication on the national stage that the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games provides. Team Ontario is especially proud to be able to represent our province in our own backyard!”
“It is an honour to be carrying the flag for Team Ontario. Having seen others who I look up to have similar opportunities, it is exciting to think that I am able to represent my team and other Team Ontario athletes in this way at the 2022 Canada Summer Games,” said Tajia Sta Maria, Team Ontario’s flag bearer, who was a 2022 Biosteel All-Canadian Team selection and has committed to play for Fresno State in September 2023.
“Having the chance to play in major events has always helped me to become a better basketball player on the court and learn a lot off of it, so I am looking forward to more of those opportunities while competing for Team Ontario at the Canada Games in Niagara, hopefully winning a gold medal on home soil, and also meeting other athletes from different sports and provinces/territories to build new friendships.”
Held every two years, alternating between winter and summer, the Canada Games are the country’s marquee event for amateur sport representing the highest level of national competition for thousands of up-and-coming Canadian athletes. This uniquely Canadian event, which counts Andre De Grasse, Sidney Crosby, Steve Nash, Katarina Roxon and Hayley Wickenheiser as alumni, is also one of the only multi-sport competitions in the world that features events for able-bodied athletes, as well as athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities.
For the first time in the Canada Games’ history, which dates back to 1967, 13 municipalities (the Regional Municipality of Niagara and its 12 local area municipalities) will collectively host this competition. In total, more than 5,000 participants and close to 4,500 volunteers will take part in the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. The only other two occasions the Canada Games were ever held in Ontario were 1981 in Thunder Bay and 2001 in London.
Tickets for this summer’s Games are still available for purchase online.
About the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games
At the peak of Niagara’s boldest summer yet, more than 5,000 up-and-coming athletes, their coaches and support staff will gather to compete in the Niagara Region for the podium in Canada’s largest multi-sport event. From August 6 to 21, 2022, Niagara will surge stronger than ever on the national stage. The 2022 Canada Games, made possible thanks to funding and support from the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Niagara Region, and the Canada Games Council, will give rise to new legacies of ambition, confidence, and compassion that will inspire generations to come.
For further information, visit us here or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@2022canadagames).
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