OTTAWA (January 25, 2011) – A delegation of 102 student-athletes and 39 officials will represent Canada at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey, from January 27 to February 6.
Queen's Athletics & Recreation will be represented at the event by the Gaels 2010 CIS Championship men's curling team and by Queen's Coordinator of Athletic Therapy Services Vicky Whiltshire.
The opening ceremonies of the 25th Winter World University Games are set for 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Eastern) on Thursday.
The two Canadian hockey teams will be in action on opening day, both at 4 p.m. local. The women begin the defence of their Universiade title against Finland while the men – silver medallists in 2009 – kick off the tournament against Slovenia.
“Our group of athletes is going to be competitive,” said Canadian chef de mission, Beth Ali. “We've seen success over the years in curling, hockey and speed skating and we hope to see similar results here in Turkey.”
“The athletes' village is beautiful with the ski jumping venue visible from most residences including our own,” added University of Toronto's Director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport, who arrived in Erzurum on Saturday. “The staff and volunteers have been great and we look forward to what promises to be an outstanding Games.”
In addition to hockey, Canada will be competing in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, curling, short track speed skating and snowboarding over the next two weeks.
At the last Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, in 2009, Canada tallied six medals including one gold (women's hockey), four silver (men's hockey, women's curling, short track men's 1000m, short track men's 5000m relay) and one bronze (short track women's 3000m relay).
Canada's best showing at the Winter Universiade came in 1985 when Canadian student-athletes returned from Belluno, Italy, with 18 medals including five gold. An exceptional short track speed skating team featuring numerous Olympic medallists such as Susan Auch, Maryse Perreault, Louis Grenier and Michel Daignault accounted for 17 of those podiums and all five first-place finishes.
Canada also hit double digits in 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy, amassing 10 medals including two gold, five silver and three bronze.
The first Winter Universiade were held in 1960 in Chamonix, France. Canada claimed its first medal in 1968 at the fifth biennial Games in Innsbruck, Austria, when the men's hockey team skated to a third-place finish. The first Canadian gold medal came four years later in Lake Placid, NY, when alpine skier Lisa Richardson won the downhill race.
Following is a complete list of student-athletes and officials representing Canada in Erzurum (listed by sport).
WEBSITES & LINKS (including sport-by-sport and daily schedules):
Team Canada website:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter
Team Canada schedule by sport:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter/2011/files/sch_sport
Team Canada schedule by day:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter/2011/files/sch_day
Official Universiade website:
http://www.universiadeerzurum.org/english
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY REPRESENTATION
Curling
Jonathan Beuk Queen's University Kingston, Ont.
Andrew Inouye Queen's University Ottawa, Ont.
Chadd Vandermade Queen's University Ottawa, Ont.
Scott Chadwick Queen's University Marysville, Ont.
William Francis Queen's University Toronto, Ont.
Mission Staff
Chef de Mission: Beth Ali (University of Toronto)
Assistant Chef: Mary MacDonald (CIS)
Communications Manager: Ari Grossman (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Operations Manager: Elizabeth Kiraly (CIS)
Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Devin Nielsen
Chief Therapist: Andrea Prieur (University of Toronto)
Physician: Dr. Taryn Taylor (Carleton University)
Therapist: Jacques Lavergne (Laval University)
Therapist: Vicky Wiltshire (Queen's University)
