Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton —Middle school visit, Spirit of Sport award presentation, and corporate push challenge at Nathan Phillips Square highlight unique two-day journey through Toronto—

TORONTO—The highly anticipated Olympic year will begin with a two-day journey through the streets of Canada’s largest city for the nation’s top bobsleigh and skeleton athletes, October 31 and November 1.

Arriving in Toronto fresh off a week of training on the Olympic Track in PyeongChang, Korea, the rare visit to Ontario will get underway by sliding into Hodgson Middle School for a spirited, and highly visual, appearance with 600 students in Grades 6 to 8 on Halloween morning.

The Canadian squad will then head to the city’s core on November 1 to present the inaugural winner of the L. Lamont Gordon Spirit of Sport Award during an intimate gathering of business leaders at the Cambridge Club.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton will then head across the street to officially name six skeleton and 22 bobsleigh athletes who will wear the Canadian colours for the 2017-18 World Cup season. The high-powered group of athletes, who will bring a sled full of Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medals with them to the heart of Toronto at Nathan Phillips Square, will then launch the competitive season by teaming up with members of the corporate community for the truly unique Bay Street Push Challenge.

Who: Canadian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Teams including…

Kaillie Humphries (Calgary)                             Jesse Lumsden (Burlington, Ont.)

Phylicia George (Markham, Ont.                      Seyi Smith (Ottawa)

Mirela Rahneva (Ottawa)                                 Cam Stones (Whitby, Ont.)

Alysia Rissling (Edmonton)                              Dave Greszczyszyn (Brampton, Ont.)

Cynthia Appiah (Toronto)                                 Nick Poloniato (Hamilton)

Melissa Lotholz (Barrhead, Alta.)                     Alex Kopacz (London, Ont.)                                                                 

The following are complete details for each of the team’s events:

October 31 – 9 a.m. – Halloween School Visit and Student Fitness Testing

Hodgson Middle School – 282 Davisville Avenue

Details:

Athletes will celebrate Halloween with each of the 600 kids in the student body who will pack the school gymnasium. Athletes will deliver powerful messages during a unique Q&A session led by a select number of students before showcasing their sport through a video presentation and conducting interactive start demonstrations with a bobsleigh and skeleton sled on wheels. Following the official presentation, athletes will lead the students through a series of six fitness stations they use for recruitment camp testing including: 30-metre sprints; standing long jump; ball toss; and triple jump.

November 1 – 10 a.m. – L. Lamont Gordon Spirit of Sport Award

Cambridge Club – 100 Richmond Street West (11th Floor)

Details:

Accomplished Bay Street business leader and alumnus of Canada’s bobsleigh program, L. Lamont Gordon, has been financially supporting Canadian bobsleigh and skeleton athletes for more than half a century. Now 85 years old, Gordon and his family will join Canada’s bobsleigh and skeleton athletes for a presentation of the inaugural winner of the L. Lamont Gordon Spirit of Sport Award – created to honour one athlete each year who embodies the spirit of sportsmanship. Nominated by their teammates, the winner will exemplify exceptional qualities of sportsmanship and team spirit.

November 1 – 12:30 p.m. – Official World Cup Team Announcement/Bay Street Push Challenge

Nathan Phillips Square – 100 Queen Street West

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton will officially name the 2017-18 World Cup Bobsleigh and Skeleton Teams at Nathan Phillips Square. Immediately following the team announcement, Toronto’s corporate community will be trading in their dress shoes for bobsleigh spikes where teams of two will join forces with one of the newly-named athletes to determine the fastest corporate executive in Canada in the Bay Street Push Challenge. Tasked with pushing an athlete in a bobsleigh on wheels over a specially-designed 30-metre track, the fastest team will win a trip for four to the Whistler World Cup November 24-25. The event will also include special guests from the Canadian Military and sporting community.

Canada’s bobsleigh and skeleton athletes will depart from Toronto for the first World Cup of the season scheduled for Lake Placid, NY, November 5-10.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton

T: 403-620-8731