Monastery Catches Canada Games Spirit

Two hundred students were catching the Canada Games spirit in Monastery, Antigonish Co., today, June 16. Their school, East Antigonish Education Centre, held a Canada Games Day to allow students to have a great time playing sports and learning about the Games.

Teams of students in grades primary to 4 represented each province and territory while competing in 13 modified activities to symbolize Canada Games sports. For example, students laid on scooter boards to symbolize swimming, and had a soccer slalom relay to symbolize soccer. The day included opening ceremonies, a pep rally, sporting activities and closing ceremonies.

"We want the students to realize the how big the Games really are -- the number of different events, that there are participants from across the country -- and to realize that even being from a small town, they, too, can one day go to the Canada Games," said Jerome Stewart, a teacher at the school who helped organize the event. "Overall, we want them to experience the joy of sport."

Canada Games Day comes from the Catch the Spirit program developed by the Canada Games Council. It offers young people a sport and educational experience that mirrors the excitement and spirit of the Canada Games. Students are encouraged to set goals, take pride in their achievements and, above all, participate.

Canada Games Day also offers young people a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills, and to help plan and organize a community event. In Monastery today, the events were organized and led by Grade 8 students.

"The Grade 8 students have been planning for almost three weeks now, and I hope they take away not only leadership skills but also an understanding of the amount of work needed to organize and manage the activities," said Mr. Stewart.

Joe MacDonald, chair of Nova Scotia's Canada Games Management Group, also attended the event. The management group invited all schools across the province to participate and provided the Catch the Spirit resource which outlines how to organize a Canada Games Day.

The students in Monastery were joined by Chris Connors, a softball player from Afton, Antigonish Co., who will represent Nova Scotia at the 2005 Canada Summer Games; Paul Long, who played softball for Nova Scotia at the Canada Games in the 1960s; and Linda Gottschall, a teacher at the school who competed in track and field in the 1969 and 1972 Canada Games.

As role models for the students, the current and former Canada Games athletes were there to encourage the students throughout the day.

The 2005 Canada Games run from Aug. 3 to 20 in Regina, Sask. Team Nova Scotia will have a maximum of 357 athletes competing in 16 sports during the two weeks of the Games. They are supported by 45 coaches, 20 managers, one boatman and 18 mission staff. Four young artists will participate in the National Artists Program, bringing the team's total to 445 Nova Scotians.