Meet Team Manitoba's 2022 Canada Games Mission Staff

By Sarah Tone, Communications Coordinator

Mission staff volunteers support Team Manitoba and their individual sport team(s) at Canada Games. They operate behind the scenes to minimize distractions for Team Toba, so participants can optimize their performance and represent Manitoba the best they can. They’re Team Toba’s mentors, motivators, and cheerleaders and they’ll make sure you have the best time in Niagara!

Meet our mission staff for the 2022 Canada Games:

Drew Todd – Chef de Mission
Drew is Sport Manitoba’s Senior Games Manager and joins Team Toba as the Chef de Mission for the 2022 Canada Games. He was a member of Team BC’s mission team at both the 2015 and 2017 Canada Games. Drew worked in BC’s sport system for nearly a decade, most recently as the Manager of Performance Programs with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific. During that time, he led a variety of initiatives supporting targeted, high-performance athletes and coaches in the province throughout their sporting careers.

Kelly Babb – Assistant Chef de Mission
Kelly is one of Sport Manitoba’s Games Specialists. She has worked at various sporting events over the past seven years, including the 2017 Canada Summer Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Kelly grew up playing every sport available, with a focus on soccer. She gardens and takes tons of photos of her cat, who thinks he’s a dog, Harvey.

Pete Conway – Assistant Chef de Mission
Pete’s worked at Sport Manitoba for the past 22 years. When not at work, he enjoys coaching volleyball and golfing a few rounds. His first experience at the Canada Games was in 2001 in London, ON.

Noelle Merkel – Operations Manager
Noelle’s involvement with Manitoba Games as a Coach/PSO/Games Coordinator, and Canada Games as a Team Manager led her to her career as a Games Specialist at Sport Manitoba. Noelle’s sport background is in track and field (ask her anything about the sport and she will talk your ear off for hours). She now plays slo-pitch and has been enjoying the team sport environment for the first time! Outside of sport, Noelle loves to explore Manitoba, go on park walks with her Puggle, and spend time outdoors as much as possible.

Peter Nicholls – Athletics & Mountain Bike
Peter is a retired educator who taught physical education for many years before moving into school administration. Sport has been a huge part of his life, – competing, coaching, officiating, and volunteering. He is very excited to be part of the 2021 mission staff for the Canada Summer Games. Go Team Toba!

Glen Hunter – Baseball
Glen works in marketing for the Birchwood Automotive Group and after 20 years of working there, will retire at the end of this year. He played baseball from age 8 to 34. Once he stopped playing, he started working with players at skill and development camps. He also started coaching with his first role on a provincial team during the 1990 WCSG hosted in Winnipeg. Since then, he has coached in the WCSG in 2015 and two CSG (2009 and 2017). My first experience as mission staff was in 2019.

Stephanie Trimble – Soccer (F) & Basketball (F)
Stephanie has lived in Winnipeg for the past 12 years. She’s played sports all her life, and loves trying new ones now as an adult.  Steph enjoys all things outdoors, camping, hiking, canoeing, and spending time with family at the lake.

Terry Skarban – Basketball (M) & Rowing
I’m back for my second Canada Games and I am looking forward to the comradery and the competition! It will be a nice break from my day job as a Junior High Vice-Principal.

Sarah Mitchell – Canoe Kayak & Triathlon
Sarah is a French Immersion teacher who recently graduated from l’Université de Saint-Boniface. She has been involved with sport her whole life, participating in the 2013 and 2017 Canada Games as an athlete with Canoe/Kayak, and in the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games as mission staff. Sarah has also worked as a coach at the Manitoba Canoe Kayak Center for 3 years. Sarah is excited to spend the summer sharing her passion for sport with amateur athletes from all over Manitoba!

Trevor Ketler – Cycling 
Trevor is addicted to good coffee and is an avid cyclist. He played rugby for Team Manitoba in his 20s and has been racing bikes in three disciplines for many years. He served as president for the Manitoba Cycling Association for five years and was fortunate to attend the Western Canada Summer Games as part of Team Toba’s mission staff in 2019.

Rochelle Dziadekwich – Diving & Soccer (M)
They say to do what you love, and for Rochelle that’s all things sports! Rochelle grew up playing multiple sports, and her love of the Games brought her to working in the industry. She is currently the Programs Manager with the Manitoba Soccer Association, as well as a Canada Soccer C-License Coach. She is also currently working towards her Master of Science in Sport Administration.

Evan Andrew – Golf
Evan was born and raised in rural MB, schooled in Toronto, lived in Montreal, London ON and Winnipeg. He can watch SportsCentre on loop in the mornings and is a father of three boys.

Tara Funke – Sailing & Softball (F)
This is Tara’s fourth Canada Games as a volunteer with Team Manitoba. She competed at the 1995 Canada Games and has enjoyed giving back to sport ever since. She lives and works in Altona and is a proud grandma to six cuties.

Scott Kirk – Lacrosse (M) & Swimming
Scott is currently the Director of Acute Care at the Brandon Regional Health Centre. He has been involved in sport in various roles for many years as an athlete, coach and volunteer. Scott was one of the sport chairs for swimming at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg and mission staff for swimming at the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current. He is looking forward to the 2022 Canada Games and making it a memorable experience for the athletes.

Kylo Harris – Lacrosse (F) & Softball (M)
Kylo is a self-declared Games junkie. He’s been involved in Manitoba Games, North American Indigenous Games, Western Canada Games and Canada Games in both Summer and Winter. He’s married to Donna, a former Canada Games athlete, coach and mission staff member, and they have two daughters, Abby and Clara.

Chris Cara – Tennis & Volleyball (F)
Chris has been involved in youth sports for over 20 years. He’s passionate about athlete development and watching athletes succeed while enjoying what they do.

Gabby Desrochers – Rugby 
Gabrielle is a graduate of the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Manitoba. She has been involved in sport her entire life, both as a participant and coach. Hockey was the main sport she played growing up, and she started coaching and instructing during her final year of high school. To this day, her involvement in sport as a participant and coach is a big part of who she is, and it’s helped her choose to pursue a career in recreation and sport development.

Pat Alexander – Volleyball (M) & Beach Volleyball
Currently, Pat is a PHE instructor at Northlands Parkway Collegiate in Winkler, MB. He is actively involved in coaching volleyball at both school and club levels. He also helps out at the UofW when time allows. And he LOVES anything to do with Team Toba and the Games!

Alisha Kaegi – Wrestling
Alisha is a recent university graduate and a new teacher in rural Manitoba. As a young athlete, she competed in Canada Games in both judo and wrestling and continues now as a coach for young judo athletes. She is so excited to be mission staff for wrestling at the 2021 Canada Games so she can experience the Games on the other side, as well as have the opportunity to ensure that athletes and coaches have everything they need to be successful.

Mandy Los – Medical Liaison
Mandy is a travel junkie with a never-ending bucket list of adventures. She spends her spare time walking her dog and playing slo-pitch in the Summer. She’s too busy watching sports in the Winter to do much else. She’s been to too many Canada Games to count – but she can’t get enough of them!

Jeff Wood – Performance Specialist
Jeff is a Sport Performance Specialist at Sport Manitoba Performance. He has been in the strength and conditioning field for almost three decades after graduating with a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of Manitoba. Jeff has a passion for working with and helping young athletes reach their athletic potential so they can perform at their best, when it matters the most. He believes in putting equal importance on training, nutrition, rest/recovery, and mindset to become a top achiever in sport and life.

Davis Chase – Performance Specialist
Davis works as a Sport Performance Coach for Sport Manitoba, a role he’s held since 2017, where his role is to improve the strength, conditioning, and overall athleticism of our Team Toba athletes. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Davis grew up a multi-sport athlete competing in a variety of sports such as volleyball, soccer, track & field, and golf. Davis graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Kinesiology in 2016.During his free time, Davis enjoys playing sports with friends, activities with his two dogs, and spending time out at the lake.

Sarah Tone – Communications Lead
Sarah is Team Manitoba’s Communications Lead. She’s worked for Sport Manitoba in Communications for the past seven years and spent some of that time as the Communications Manager for the 2017 Canada Games. She’s Jackson’s mom, she always has concert tickets, and she loves roller coasters.

Amber Doyle – Communications Assistant
Amber has worked at Sport Manitoba for the last three years and is currently its Marketing Manager. She grew up on her family farm outside Souris, Manitoba, completed her undergrad at Brandon University, spent a summer living in Toronto working for SportsCentre on TSN, and completed Creative Communications at Red River College. Amber is also the play-by-play announcer for the UofM Bisons volleyball, an animal lover with two rescue pets at home, and is excited to attend her first Canada Games.

Nolan Bicknell – Communications Assistant
Nolan is a lifelong Manitoban and has been working at The Winnipeg Foundation since 2014. He joined The Foundation as an intern, via a work placement through Red River College’s Creative Communications program. Nolan majored in Media Production at RRC, and he puts his technical knowledge to good use by hosting/producing The Foundation’s, BeCause & Effect podcast, filming and editing video and radio content, as well as writing for the Working Together magazine.