Gymnastics Canada – MONTREAL, QC (October 6, 2016) – Rio 2016 Olympians Ellie Black of Halifax, NS, Shallon Olsen of Surrey, BC, Rose-Kaying Woo of Brossard, QC, and Scott Morgan of Vancouver, BC helped to invite the world to Montreal Wednesday at a star-studded event kicking-off the one-year countdown to the 2017 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal, QC.

Morgan, Black, Woo, and Olsen are all ambassadors for the event which is set to take place from October 2-8, 2017 at the Olympic Stadium. In addition, Quebec-based national team athletes named as ambassadors that also attended the event included: Rene Cournoyer of Repentigny, Mathieu Csukassy of Laval, Samuel Paquin of Saint-Jérome, Audrey Rousseau of Lasalle, and Victoria-Kayen Woo of Brossard.

“It’s an honour to be an ambassador for this event,” said Morgan. “To be able to show the world a World Championships that will truly be supporting athletes, and sport, for the purpose of competition is going to be something really special. To be able to build that excitement amongst the athletes that we compete with and are friends with day in and day out is going to be amazing.”

The World Championships will welcome athletes from more than 80 countries, including many of the stars from the recent 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, to compete for titles in men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics.

“It’s a real honour to be able to welcome the world to Canada for this event,” said Peter Nicol, President/CEO of Gymnastics Canada. “With Canada celebrating its 150^th Anniversary, and Montreal celebrating its 375th next year, it was a natural fit to have Nadia Comaneci, the star of the 1976 Olympic Games, to come back to the city as the official spokesperson of this event. We’re really excited for our athletes to be able to compete in front of a home town crowd and to inspire the next generation to become involved in this amazing sport.”

Also named as an ambassador for the event was mixed martial arts star Georges St-Pierre who himself has used gymnastics to train for his sport. “I love gymnastics because it’s more than a sport. It’s a way of life. It’s a discipline that helps develop the fundamentals of athleticism that we can use in every other sport. I’m very excited to be able to watch the best athletes in gymnastics compete here in one year at the World Championships.”

ABOUT THE 47TH ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (2017 AGWC)

The 2017 AGWC Organizing Committee is a non-profit organization founded in 2015 to plan and deliver the event, which will host the world’s top gymnasts in Montréal, Quebec, October 2–8, 2017. For more information, visit mtl2017gymcan.com.

ABOUT THE FIG

The International Gymnastics Federation is the governing body for Gymnastics worldwide. It is the oldest established international sports federation and has participated in the Olympic Games since their revival in 1896. The FIG governs seven disciplines: Gymnastics for All, Men’s Artistic, Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline, Aerobic and Acrobatic. It counts 142 national member federations and boasts a 28-person staff at its international seat in Lausanne (SUI), host city of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

ABOUT GYMNASTICS CANADA

First established in 1969, Gymnastics Canada is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. Gymnastics Canada works closely with the twelve Provincial Federations and the 700 local clubs to provide a broad range of programs and services to meet the needs of all participants. From athlete development, to coaching and judging education, Gymnastics Canada sets the operating standards and practices for the sport in Canada. Our mandate is to promote and provide positive and diverse gymnastics experience through the delivery of quality and safe gymnastics programming. Visit www.gymcan.org for more information, or follow us @CDNgymnastics.

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For more information, contact:

Julie Forget
Director, Communications and Marketing
Gymnastics Canada
Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org

Magalie Boutin
Director, Communications and Media
2017 AGWC Organizing Committee
Tel: 514.923.2555
Email: mboutin@mtl2017gymcan.com