Students have high hopes for Games

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/sail.jpg” caption=”Sailing is just one of the sports that McMaster athletes will be competing in over the next two weeks at the Canada Games in PEI.”]A number of McMaster students are in PEI in the hopes of returning with gold from the 2009 Canada Games, running from August 15 to 29 on the island province.

The Canada Games is a multi-sport and cultural event that brings together the best athletes and artists in a specified age group from each Canadian province and territory. The primary objective of the Games and the Games movement is the national and provincial sport development of Canadian youth.

Featuring events in everything from baseball and soccer to canoeing and kayaking, the Games offer athletes a chance to test their training on a national level while representing their home province. The McMaster contingent consists of athletes competing in a number of sports, including track and field, volleyball and sailing.

“I'm feeling very excited,” said Joanne Prokop, a third-year commerce student and sailor from Ontario. “I've been training very hard and I know my competition. Gold is not out of my reach.”

Joining Prokop at the Games is fellow Marauder and sailor Alison Ludzki, a second-year kinesiology student who trains with the McMaster cross-country team to stay in peak shape.

“It's just as mentally demanding as it is physical,” she said, “but I'm looking forward to competing.”

Both women agree that McMaster has been critical to their success so far. Prokop is especially grateful to the staff at the Academic Programs Office in the DeGroote School of Business, who ensure she can keep up with her training and competing commitments as well as her studies.

Held in two-year intervals since 1967, the Canada Games have been a springboard for many of the country's top athletes – Montreal Canadiens great Bob Gainey, speed skater Catriona LeMay Doan, basketball star Steve Nash, 2009 Stanley Cup winner Sidney Crosby and McMaster graduate and Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden among them.

Republish this Article for Free

Republish this Article

We believe in the free flow of information. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 2.5 Canada (CC BY-ND 2.5 CA), so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print.

All republished articles must be attributed in the following way and contain links to both the site and original article: “This article was first published on Daily News. Read the original article.”

[img_inline align="right" src="http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/sail.jpg" caption="Sailing is just one of the sports that McMaster athletes will be competing in over the next two weeks at the Canada Games in PEI."]A number of McMaster students are in PEI in the hopes of returning with gold from the 2009 Canada Games, running from August 15 to 29 on the island province.<br />
<br />
<p>The Canada Games is a multi-sport and cultural event that brings together the best athletes and artists in a specified age group from each Canadian province and territory. The primary objective of the Games and the Games movement is the national and provincial sport development of Canadian youth. <br />
<br />
<p>Featuring events in everything from baseball and soccer to canoeing and kayaking, the Games offer athletes a chance to test their training on a national level while representing their home province. The McMaster contingent consists of athletes competing in a number of sports, including track and field, volleyball and sailing.<br />
<br />
<p>"I&#039;m feeling very excited," said Joanne Prokop, a third-year commerce student and sailor from Ontario. "I&#039;ve been training very hard and I know my competition. Gold is not out of my reach."<br />
<br />
<p>Joining Prokop at the Games is fellow Marauder and sailor Alison Ludzki, a second-year kinesiology student who trains with the McMaster cross-country team to stay in peak shape. <br />
<br />
<p>"It&#039;s just as mentally demanding as it is physical," she said, "but I&#039;m looking forward to competing."<br />
<br />
<p>Both women agree that McMaster has been critical to their success so far. Prokop is especially grateful to the staff at the Academic Programs Office in the DeGroote School of Business, who ensure she can keep up with her training and competing commitments as well as her studies. <br />
<br />
<p>Held in two-year intervals since 1967, the Canada Games have been a springboard for many of the country&#039;s top athletes - Montreal Canadiens great Bob Gainey, speed skater Catriona LeMay Doan, basketball star Steve Nash, 2009 Stanley Cup winner Sidney Crosby and McMaster graduate and Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden among them.  <br />

Media Enquiries

Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24073
Email: comms@mcmaster.ca

The Communications and Public Affairs Office is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The University has a broadcast quality television studio to facilitate live and pre-recorded interviews with media. Learn more about our experts.