Prince George, February 13-March 1, 2015 www.canadagames2015.ca  This is the first time the Canada Winter Games have been hosted in British Columbia  Previous Canada Summer Games hosted in British Columbia were in 1973 (New Westminster and Burnaby) and in 1993 (Kamloops).  2400 athletes ranging in age from 12-35  1000 coaches, team managers and officials  13 Teams: ten provinces and three territories

Team BC  Team BC brings together the best athletes, coaches, managers, and mission staff to represent British Columbia at the Canada Winter Games, Canada Summer Games, and Western Canada Summer Games.  Team BC athletes are the best young developing talent in their sport and being part of Team BC is a key multi-sport games development opportunity towards competing at national and international levels.  At the 2015 Canada Winter Games Team BC will have 348 people including 249 athletes, 49 coaches, 27 managers, and 23 mission staff.  There are 30 athletes, six coaches and three managers from Northern B.C. including 19 athletes, and three coaches from Prince George.  Team BC will be led by Chef de Mission, Rob Needham, and Assistant Chef de Mission, Michelle Collens.

Sports  In able-bodied sports athletes range in age from 12-23 years old. Para athletes range in age from 12-35 depending on the sport.  Athletes are at the Train to Train Stage of the Long Term Athlete Development Model  19 official sports including: , , , , Cross Country Skiing, , , , Gymnastics, Hockey, , , , , Squash, , , Target Shooting, Wheelchair Basketball.  Competition for athletes with a disability will take place in Para-Alpine, Para-Nordic, Figure Skating as well as Wheelchair Basketball.  Team BC Coaches must be fully certified NCCP Level 3 Certified or the equivalent in the NCCP Competition stream.  BC Games alumni make up 55% of Team BC. 141 athletes, 30 coaches, 11 managers and 8 mission staff have participated at the BC Winter or BC Summer Games, giving them an advantage of a multi-sport games experience.

Mission Staff  Mission staff are volunteers selected from experts in the sport, recreation, and health services sectors to provide administration support to the Provincial Sport Organizations, coaches and managers, and Team BC leading up to and at the Games.  Team BC mission staff won the Claude Hardy Award at the in Sherbrooke which is presented in recognition of a provincial or territorial team in recognition of leadership, cooperation, integrity, and esprit de corps.

Alumni The Canada Winter Games are a stepping stone to national teams and international competitions like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Team BC alumni include:  Dan Hamhuis, Hockey (Smithers), 2014 Olympic Gold Medallist, NHL Vancouver Canucks  Kelsey Serwa, Ski Cross (Kelowna), 2014 Olympic Silver Medallist  Jessica Hewitt, Speed Skating (Kamloops) 2014 Olympic Silver Medallist  Caleb Brousseau, Para Alpine (Terrace), 2014 Paralympic Bronze Medallist  Bo Hedges, Wheelchair Basketball (Fort St. John), 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist

Past Results -  Team BC finished third behind and at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax with 28 gold, 30 silver, and 30 bronze, the most (88) medals ever won by Team BC at a Canada Winter Games.  133 (58%) of the 243 Team BC athletes (competing in BC Games sports) were B.C. alumni accounting for 56 (64%) of Team BC medals.  48 B.C. electoral ridings had at least one medalist at the Games and 36 ridings had multiple medalists.

Funding and Operations  The Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development provides 850k annual funding to the Team BC program and also funds the provincial Integrated Performance System (managed by Canadian Sport Institute-Pacific) to help BC athletes and coaches prepare and improve performances at the Games and to increase BC representation on national teams. This support provides athletes and coaches with leading-edge planning, training support, and sport technology.  BC Games Society manages the operations side of Team BC (e.g. training Mission staff, logistics of getting the team to the Games and back).

Team BC Contacts: Rob Needham, 2015 Chef de Mission Michelle Collens, 2015 Assistant Chef de Mission Jarret Poitras, Operations Manager Lia Threlfall, Communications Manager [email protected] www.teambc.org @GoTeamBC