REGINA, SK (July 26, 2022): Team Sask is pleased to announce that wrestling athlete, Angel Besskkaystare of Wollaston Lake was selected as Team Saskatchewan’s Opening Ceremony Flag Bearer for the 2022 Canada Summer Games.

Team Sask will send a contingent of 377 athletes and 86 coaches, managers, and support staff to the Games.   Besskkaystare will lead Team Sask into the Opening Ceremony which will be held at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines on Saturday, August 6, 2022. The Canada Summer Games are scheduled from August 6-21, 2022, throughout the Niagara Region in Ontario.

Besskkaystare, 18, comes from the small northern community of Wollaston Lake (700km north of Prince Albert). She wrestles with the Prince Albert Wrestling Club and trains under coach Roxanne Richards. In four short years Besskkaystare’s hard work and passion for the sport of wrestling has led her to a high school, provincial, and national championships.

At the age of 14, Besskkaystare moved to Prince Albert for an improved education and new opportunities. Attending St. Mary High School in Prince Albert, Besskkaystare fell in love with wrestling and progressed rapidly, becoming captain of the high school team. In addition to being captain, Besskkaystare won the Aboriginal Cultural Award, the Inspirational Award, the Most Progressive Student Award, the Wrestling MVP award, and was placed on the Honour Roll at St. Mary. In her spare time, she gives back and leads camps at elementary schools, encouraging young kids to try wrestling.

Besskkaystare’s high school success kick-started her progress to win a provincial championship, a gold medal in Greco-Roman style wrestling at the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Championship in Calgary earlier this year and now compete for Team Sask at the Canada Summer Games!

Athletes who compete at the Canada Games represent the country’s next generation of national, international, and Olympic and Paralympic champions. Team Sask alumni Mark McMorris, Emily Clark, Rylan Wiens, Shelby Newkirk, Kenzie Priddell, Catriona LeMay Doan, and Jessica Frotten to name a few, can all count their previous Canada Games experiences as a steppingstone to the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

The full list of athletes, coaches, and staff with breakdown by sport and community can be found here. For more information on a specific athlete, search for their bio here.

Team Sask results will be updated daily on the Team Sask website at teamsask.ca and can also be found here live during the Games. The official 2022 Canada Summer Games website is: niagara2022games.ca

Team Sask is also active across social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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QUOTES:

“We are proud to have an athlete of Angel’s calibre lead Team Sask into the Opening Ceremony. Angel truly represents the characteristics of what a provincial team flag bearer is all about.  The dedication, passion, and leadership she has demonstrated for her sport, teammates, and community, sets a fantastic example for her Saskatchewan teammates, as well as those who aspire to be a part of Team Sask. On behalf of all of us with Team Sask, congratulations, Angel!”

  • Mark Bracken, Team Sask Chef de Mission

“When I told my family I will be the Team Sask Opening Ceremonies Flag Bearer, they were very excited for me and very proud. They told me that not only has no one from Wollaston Lake ever been a flag bearer, but also, no one from Wollaston lake has ever been part of Canada Summer Games. It is a true honour to be chosen to carry the flag and I will do my best to represent Team Sask to the best of my ability.”

  • Angel Besskkaystare, 2022 Canada Summer Games Opening Ceremonies Team Sask Flag Bearer

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For more information, please contact:

 

Ashley Dennison
Games Services & Communications Lead
(306) 570-2525
adennison@saskgames.ca

Mark Bracken
Chef de Mission Team Sask
(306) 536-1592
mbracken@saskgames.ca