82 BC Athletes heading to Commonwealth Games

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release 2010PREM0161-001090 Sept. 18, 2010

Office of the Premier Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport

82 B.C. ATHLETES HEADING TO 2010 COMMONWEALTH GAMES

VICTORIA – Eighty-two B.C. athletes will be competing against other world-class athletes at the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, announced Premier Gordon Campbell.

“I’d like to congratulate all the B.C. athletes who have been named to Team Canada. I know they will be great ambassadors for our province and country, and all Canadians will be cheering them on to build upon the success of our athletes from the 2010 Games,” said Premier Campbell. “The Commonwealth Games are a celebration of how sport can bring many different nations together into a single community. It is an incredible event that has great significance to British Columbia as a former host province.”

The Games will take place Oct. 3-14 and will feature more than 4,000 world-class athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories, competing in 17 different sports. Canada finished third overall at the 2006 Games in Melbourne, Australia, where B.C. athletes made up 40 per cent of the Canadian team and won 25 medals – 30 per cent of the Canadian total.

This year, Canada will send a highly competitive team of approximately 350 athletes and coaches to the Games. B.C. athletes make up 32 per cent of this year’s Canadian team.

“This large contingent of B.C. athletes on the Canadian team once again demonstrates the strength of B.C.’s sport system and the quality of development and training opportunities for high-performance athletes here,” said Ida Chong, Minister of Healthy Living and Sport. “We are also very proud of all of our B.C.-based coaches who dedicate their lives to preparing our athletes for top competitions.”

British Columbia’s athletes’ success on the national and international stage is due, in part, to the Province’s unique regional pathway for athlete development, which travels through the BC Games and Canada Games. The Commonwealth Games are an important step for athletes as they strive for success at other international competitions, including the Pan American Games and Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Province supports these efforts with funding for the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific and the Integrated Performance System, which provides enhanced services and support to B.C.’s athletes and coaches as well as our provincial sport organizations.

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A backgrounder follows.

Media Contacts:

Dale Steeves Director of Communications Office of the Premier 250 361-7783

Jeff Rud Communications Director Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport 250 208-4028

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

For Immediate Release 2010PREM0161-001090 Sept. 18, 2010

Office of the Premier Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport

LARGE B.C. CONTINGENT OFF TO COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Many of the following athletes representing Canada and British Columbia have worked their way through B.C.’s regional pathway for athlete development:

Archery

Hugh MacDonald, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Athletics

Ruky Abdulai, Coquitlam – Long Jump, 4x400m

Dylan Armstrong, Kamloops – Shot Put (1995 & 1996 BC Games and 2001 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Diane Cummins, Victoria – 800m, 4x400m (1997 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Carly Dockendorf, Port Moody – Pole Vault

Evan Dunfee, Richmond – 20km Racewalk (2004 BC Games and 2007 Western Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Inaki Gomez, Vancouver – 20km Racewalk (2007 Western Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Michael Mason, Nanoose Bay – High Jump (2000 BC Games & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Megann Vandervliet, Kamloops – Hammer Throw

Crystal Smith, Kamloops – Hammer Throw

Vicki Tolton, Smithers – 4x400m (2002 BC Games & 2009 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Badminton

Anna Rice, Vancouver (ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador, 1995, 1996 BC Games & 1999 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Alvin Lau, Vancouver (2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Toby Ng, Vancouver (2000 BC Games & 2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Coach: Ram Nayyar, Vancouver (2003 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Cycling

Svein Tuft, Langley – Road Race, TimeTrial (1991 & 1992 BC Games alumnus)

Will Routley, Whistler – Road Race (2001 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Erinne Willock,Victoria – Road Race (ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador and 1995, 1997 & 1998 BC Games alumnus)

Alison Testroete, Abbotsford – Road Race (1997 & 2000 BC Games alumnus and Team BC alumnus)

Coach: Richard Wooles, North Vancouver (2007 Western Canada Summer Games & 2009 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Field Hockey

Men’s Team:

Adam Froese, Abbotsford

David Carter, Vancouver (1997 BC Games alumnus)

Matthew Guest, Vancouver

Richard Hildreth, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

David Jameson, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Antoni Kindler, Vancouver

Mark Pearson, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Rob Short, Tsawwassen

Iain Smythe, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Sukhwinder (Gabbar) Singh, Surrey

Scott Tupper, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Jesse Watson, North Vancouver

Philip Wright, Vancouver

Hudson Stewart, Vancouver

Women’s Team:

Abigail Raye, Kelowna (2007 Western Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Ali Lee, Victoria (2004 BC Games & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Amanda Stone, Richmond (2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Anna Kozniuk, North Vancouver (2006 & 2008 BC Games alumnus)

Diana Roemer, Mill Bay (2002 BC Games alumnus)

Katie Collison, Duncan (2002 BC Games alumnus)

Robyn Pendleton, Victoria (2002 BC Games & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Samantha Smith, North Vancouver (2002 BC Games alumnus)

Stephanie Jameson, Vancouver (1997 BC Games and 2001 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Stephanie Nesbitt, North Vancouver

Thea Culley, Rossland (2000 BC Games & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Tyla Flexman, Vancouver (2002 BC Games alumnus & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Coach: Paul Bundy, Vancouver

Managers: Sheena Scott, Vancouver (2000 BC Games alumnus – manager), Andrew Schouten, Vancouver

Gymnastics

Jason Scott, Richmond – Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Robert Watson, Port Coquitlam – Men’s Artistic Gymnastics

Demetra Mantcheva, Richmond – Rhythmic Gymnastics

Nerissa Mo, Vancouver – Rhythmic Gymnastics

Coaches: Ferenc Szabo, Langley – Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Coach (2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus), Dajana Kosarac, Vancouver – Rhythmic Gymnastics Coach

Lawn Bowls

Josephine Lee, Burnaby

Hiren Bhartu, Nanaimo

Rugby Sevens

Conor Trainor, Vancouver

Sean Duke, Vancouver

Nathan Hirayama, Richmond (2004 BC Games & 2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Phil Mack, Victoria

Neil Meechan, Maple Ridge (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Justin Mensah-Coker, Vancouver

Thyssen De Goede, Victoria

Shooting

James (Jim) Paton, White Rock – Fullbore Rifle (1991 & 1993 BC Games alumnus – and coach at eight other BC Games)

Dorothy Ludwig, Langley – Women’s Air Pistol

Swimming

Ryan Cochrane, Victoria (ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador)

Scott Dickens, Vancouver

Brent Hayden, Vancouver (1998 BC Games & 2001 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Stefan Hirniak, Victoria

Brian Johns, Vancouver (1996 BC Games alumnus)

Sean Penhale, Victoria

Blake Worsley, Victoria

Mackenzie Downing, Victoria

Alexa Komarnycky, Victoria

Lauren Lavigna, Vancouver (2005 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Annamay Pierse, Vancouver (ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador)

Julia Wilkinson, Victoria

Martha McCabe, Vancouver

Coaches: Tom Johnson, Vancouver; Joszef Nagy, Vancouver; Randy Bennett, Brentwood Bay

Table Tennis

Andre Ho, Richmond (2004 BC Games & 2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Carmen Lee, Vancouver (2004 BC Games & 2007 Canada Winter Games Team BC alumnus)

Mo Zhang, Richmond (2004 BC Games slumnus)

Weightlifting

Christine Girard, White Rock

Katelynn Williams, Langley

Jasvir Singh, Burnaby

Parm Phangura, Surrey

Wrestling

John Pineda,Vancouver – 55 kg Freestyle Men (2000 BC Games alumnus)

Arjan Bhullar, Richmond – 120 kg Freestyle Men (2001 Canada Summer Games Team BC alumnus)

Carol Huynh, Hazelton – 48 kg Freestyle Women (1996 BC Games alumnus and ActNow BC Athlete Ambassador)

Coach: Dave McKay, Port Moody

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Media Contacts:

Dale Steeves Director of Communications Office of the Premier 250 361-7783

Jeff Rud Communications Director Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport 250 208-4028

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.