VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - March 5, 2007) -Aboriginal youth across Canada are being invited to find inspirationin Aboriginal athlete role models with Vancouver 2010's 'Find YourPassion in Sport' poster series. The Vancouver Organizing Committeefor the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) unveiled theseries today as part of its commitment to increase awareness of, andparticipation in, Olympic and Paralympic winter sport by Canada'sAboriginal people.
'At Vancouver 2010, we have set a goal of unprecedented Aboriginalparticipation,' said VANOC Chief Executive Officer John Furlong.'These three athletes have dreamed bigger, reached higher andcelebrated what's possible when you try. We are very proud of theiraccomplishments and are excited to have them on our team, encouragingAboriginal participation in sport across the country.'
The athletes featured in the series reflect all three Aboriginalgroups from across Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Metis. The threeinspirational athletes were chosen from a final shortlist of a dozencandidates:
- Chelsie Mitchell (Snowboard) - a First Nations youth fromBritish Columbia
- Aqpik Peter (Speed Skating) - an Inuit youth from Nunavut
- Mareck Beaudoin (Biathlon) - a Metis youth from Quebec
(i) Posters Available On-Line: A version of each poster can beaccessed directly via vancouver2010.com at (for the purposes of themedia only):
- http://www.vancouver2010.com/resources/PDFs/Poster_Mareck.pdf
- http://www.vancouver2010.com/resources/PDFs/Poster_Aqpik.pdf
- http://www.vancouver2010.com/resources/PDFs/Poster_Chelsie.pdf
Each of the three posters in the series features a compellingimage of the athlete in the natural landscape where he or she livesand trains. The posters are trilingual, and include text in English,French and the Aboriginal language of each athlete's respectiveancestry. In conjunction with the unveiling of the poster series, theAboriginal Participation section of the vancouver2010.com website isbeing re-launched with new content. The 'Find Your Passion in Sport'poster series images can be downloaded free as wallpaper fromvancouver2010.com.
More than 20,000 posters will be distributed to Aboriginalcommunities and organizations, Aboriginal youth organizations,Friendship Centres and Aboriginal schools across Canada. The campaignis designed to inspire Aboriginal youth to explore their dreams andbecome more actively engaged in winter sport at all levels.
'To be featured in this poster campaign is an honour and somethingI would never have imagined possible,' said Team Quebec biathleteMareck Beaudoin. 'Now that I see the final result of this project, Iam reminded that sport is not only important for me as an individualathlete, but that sport and sport role models are important for allAboriginal people in Canada.'
'The Olympic and Paralympic Games are not only about athleticexcellence but also about community engagement and building a sportlegacy to benefit everyone', said the Honourable Helena Guergis,Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade andSport. 'The young athletes featured on these posters are a symbol ofthe role that Aboriginal Peoples are playing to help reach thesegoals of the 2010 Winter Games and we are confident that they willmake their communities and Canada proud.'
VANOC is the first Organizing Committee to integrate IndigenousPeoples as official partners in the planning and hosting of a Games.Aboriginal people were asked to participate in a meaningful way toformally acknowledge the partnership with VANOC, which has set a goalof achieving, with its partners, unprecedented Aboriginalparticipation in the planning and hosting of the 2010 Winter Games.
Background on the Campaign
In 2005, VANOC and the Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC), Canada'snational voice for Aboriginal sport, signed a Statement ofCooperation. This Statement declares the intention to work togetherto take advantage of the opportunity the 2010 Winter Games provide toinspire and encourage more Aboriginal people to participate in sportacross the country. In cooperation with the Aboriginal Sport Circle,the selection of the athletes to be featured in the posters was aprocess that took much of summer 2006. Over 60 nomination submissionswere received from across Canada.
The Aboriginal athlete poster design highlights the athletes asrole models in a style comparable to famous iconic athletes who areshowcased as strong, confident and intense in their disciplines. Thephotography style, lighting and profile of the athlete is given asimilar treatment to that found in top sport magazines featuring starathletes. The background highlights the association between eachathlete's training ground and the important connection to naturewhich continues to develop, challenge, motivate and inspire.
VANOC is proud to be working with the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamishand Tsleil-Waututh First Nations - known as the Four Host FirstNations - on whose traditional lands the Games will take place - aswell as other First Nations, Inuit and Me'tis groups throughoutCanada in the planning and hosting of the Games.
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing andstaging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic WinterGames in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged inVancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver andWhistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21,2010.
