More than 150 BC athletes join #TEAMCANADA at 2015 TORONTO Pan Am Games

More than 150 BC athletes are set to attend the 2015 TORONTO Pan Am Games over the next two weeks as part of Team Canada. Kicking off this Friday, July 10, BC athletes will join more than 700 of the nation’s top male and female athletes as they go head-to-head against 40 countries from North America, South America, Latin America and the Caribbean in the quest for gold. 

The Canadian Sport Institute Pacific (CSI Pacific), a team of experts responsible for providing BC athletes and coaches with a world-leading Olympic and Paralympic training environment, is supporting the majority of the athletes attending the Games.

“Competing at the Pan Am Games on home soil will give many BC athletes a time to shine in front of their family and friends, inspiring excellence from the playground to the podium in Canada,” explained Wendy Pattenden, CEO of CSI Pacific. “With eight of our staff travelling to the Games with teams, we are very excited to support the athletes in areas such as mental performance, physiology and performance analysis.”

On their path to excellence, 77 (50 per cent) of these BC athletes have also competed at the BC Games or represented Team BC at the Canada Games or Western Canada Summer Games. Twenty-five alumni have attended both a BC Games and Canada Games or Western Canada Summer Games, including Mike Mason (Athletics), Cam Levins (Athletics), Hillary Caldwell (Swimming), Emily Overholt (Swimming), Nikola Girke (Sailing) and Nathan Hirayama (Rugby).

“The strength of the provincial sport system is evident as we see the progression of athletes towards events like the Pan American Games,” says Kelly Mann, CEO of BC Games Society. “We are proud to have played a role in providing a valuable multi-sport competition for these athletes at the BC Games and as part of Team BC. We know that our alumni will draw upon that experience as they represent Canada on home soil.”

viaSport would like to congratulate all BC and Team Canada athletes on this incredible achievement and wish them the best of luck on the international stage. GO #TEAMCANADA!

Visit the Canadian Olympic Committee website for a full list of Team Canada athletes and bios, or follow them on social media using the hashtags #TEAMCANADA, #TO2015 and #NowOrNever.

BC ATHLETES AT THE 2015 TORONTO PAN AMS:

Browse the list below to find your favourite BC athletes attending the Pan Ams. Learn more about the 2015 TORONTO Pan Am Games at www.toronto2015.org