The 2017 Canada Summer Games kicked off in style Friday night.
As more than 2000 athletes, coaches and officials entered Bell MTS Place, thousands of spectators stood on their feet to holler in a moment that made young athletes feel like rock stars.
High fives were the most common currency. Dozens of young kids standing by on the floor exchanged hundreds of them with athletes. On the path to their seats, several athletes stopped to either high five or pose for a quick selfie with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
While Team Manitoba played host, hundreds more volunteers, speakers, or performers laid out the welcome mat.
Elders offered a prayer and words of humility and strength.
“May I wish you all the best that spirit and nature can offer you as you compete with kindness and respect for one another,” elder Dave Courchene Jr. said.
Tom Quinn, chair of the board of the Canada Games council, pointed out how more than 64 per cent of medals won at the recent Olympics in Rio were won by former Canada Games athletes. Steve Nash, Sidney Crosby and Winnipeg’s Cindy Klassen are all Canada Games alumni.
“After years and dedication to your sport, you will now always be part of the Canada Games legacy,” Quinn said.
Dignitaries, including Premier Brian Pallister and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, offered words of encouragement.
“Tonight you don’t just represent your provinces as athletes but you represent them as leaders,” Trudeau said.
“I want you to know these games are for you but they’re for you to share. With your parents, with your siblings, with your teammates, with the volunteers. Fifty-five volunteers are making this event possible,” said Pallister.
Star-studded musical performances by Winnipeg’s The Bros. Landreth , Quebec’s Coeur de Pirate and Ontario’s Serena Ryder were woven throughout the ceremony.
All was building to the moment when the Canada Games cauldron, which was hanging from the rafters, was lowered to a stage.
The torch, which had travelled more than 3,500 kilometres, was handed off several more times, and eventually passed to Winnipeg’s own Cindy Klassen—an Olympic medalist and former Canada Games athlete herself—who lit the cauldron.
Sarah Keaveney Vos’s son is playing basketball for PEI. She and her family woke up at 4 a.m. in PEI and flew to Winnipeg for the first time Friday.
“You work so hard as a parent. For 17 years we worked and took our son to practice and fed him good food,” Keaveney Vos said. “And to be here with him tonight is absolutely a dream come true.”
