After several years spent preparing for the 2022 Canada Summer Games, events and competitions are set to begin this Saturday at 19 venues around Niagara, featuring 19 different sports.
The delay for a year by the pandemic, said Wade Stayzer as he spoke at a pep rally Saturday morning at Queenston Heights, “has made us even more eager to see the return to sport for so many of our youth, and to help bring Canadians back together for what
promises to be a spectacular celebration.”
Stayzer was speaking to a small crowd gathered in front of the amphitheatre as they waited for the torch to be lit and the Niagara-on-the-Lake portion of the torch relay to begin.
The board member of the Canada Summer Games also represents the main sponsor, Meridian Credit Union. He is their chief people and culture officer and senior vice-president of business banking, and on Saturday, the torchbearer for the final leg of the relay.
Those assembled for the rally included torchbearers, their families and friends, and many Rotarians from across Niagara who were volunteering for the relay and other events and competitions.
The games, running from Aug. 6 to Aug. 21, will include “an inaugural rugby sevens competition, the return of lacrosse after a 37-year absence from the games, and the first-ever women’s lacrosse competition in the history of the Canada Games,” said Stayzer.
He listed athletes Andre De Grasse, Sidney Crosby, Katarina Roxon and Haley Wickenheiser, who have participated in Summer Games, “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.”
Saturday’s relay through NOTL meant the Roly McLenahan Torch was nearing the end of its path, completing its passage through Niagara’s 12 local area municipalities. It represented an opportunity for each municipality “to showcase community pride as Niagara prepares for the arrival of the next generation of Canadian athletes,” said Stayzer.
Lord Mayor Betty Disero lit the torch on the stage of the amphitheatre, before heading out on the first leg of the relay with her “posse,” across the park to meet George Webber, waiting to take the torch from her.
It was a short walk, she said, but like most who took a turn carrying the torch, said it was heavy, and a bit of a strain on the shoulders as she held it up in front of her.
At each handover, a bus accompanying the relay dropped off those whose leg was about to begin, and picked up those who were finished, eventually to end up outside the Meridian Credit Union Arena, where photographers, food trucks and music awaited them.
“The traffic jam we created along the way was a good one,” said Disero, congratulating “the torchbearers, your posses, all the Rotary volunteers, and everyone who came out today.”
She had especially high praise for Carter Simpson of NOTL, one of the torchbearers, whom she accompanied along his leg of the relay. “He ran the whole way,” she said. “I was so impressed. He’s an inspiration to us all.”
“Next week,” she added, “let the games begin.”
Rotarian volunteers gather at the starting point for the relay with torchbearers Lord Mayor Betty Disero and Carter Simpson, before Disero lights the torch in the amphitheatre at Queenston Heights Park. At the first hand-over, Disero meets up with George Webber. (Penny Coles)
(Dale Cogswell)
