The Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games will be officially opened on July 24 with the help of 37 torch bearers who will carry the flame across the Energy City.
Terina Shaw, committee chair of the Estevan 2016 Torch Relay, said these young people were chosen to ignite the Games through a public nomination process where the names of deserving children were brought forward. She said these kids were picked based on their community involvement and not due to any sporting accomplishments.
“Some of these children have put hours into volunteering,” said Shaw. “Some of these children have spent time and energy with their family. They’ve gone above and beyond what a teenager or a youth should really have to do besides just being a kid.”
The 37 torch bearers are: Kate Dalziel, Kaiden Tuchscherer, Caleb Bresciani, Emily Hanson, Dayton James Fraser, Indiana Froese, Harrison Froese, Kelsey Littlejohn, Kamri Olfert, Emma’lyn Olsen, Justin Linthicum, Ashton McKnight, Chase Vicary, Angela Aalbers, Carson Perkins, Colin Sutter, Brooklyn Rice, Paige Cheveldayoff, Zoey Thompson, Avery Dechief, Mathias Fornwald, Austin Ludwig, William Chamney, Kristen Skjonsby, Brielle Wakely, Navaeh Wakely, Hudson Irwin, Graidon Irwin, Katie Cuppage, Cassidy Mackenzie, Jenna Blanchette, Cassie Blanchette, Naomi Thompson, Finity Bourassa, Vaughn Bourassa, Hayden Ladouceur and Cooper Fox, who will lead off the relay from Estevan City Hall.
“It means a lot to go number one,” said Fox, 17, who was nominated as a torch bearer for his work as a volunteer volleyball and badminton coach by his English Language Arts teacher, Michelle Cundall, at Manor School. Fox noted he won’t be participating in any of the Games sports, but he does have a previous connection to the Games through his brother Jordan who competed in the badminton event at the Moose Jaw 2010 Saskatchewan Winter Games.
The 8.8 kilometre Torch Relay starts at 5 p.m. at City Hall and travels west along 4th Street to 12th Avenue and then down 1st Street to 16th Avenue where it heads north to Highway 39 before moving up to Sister Roddy Road. It will then travel along Nicholson Road to Wellock Road, head south along Highway 47 to Albert Street before moving over to Spruce Drive where it will head west along King Street to Souris Avenue for its final leg to the Games cauldron at Affinity Place.
