By Evan Midford, Website & Social Media Coordinator

370 athletes to represent Team Manitoba at the 2022 Canada Summer Games
Team Toba announces opening ceremony flag bearer and unveils uniforms 

 

Erika Vermette with the Manitoban flag

July 26, 2022 – WINNIPEG, MB Beach volleyball’s Erika Vermette (Morris, MB) is Team Manitoba’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario.

“It’s such an honour to be selected to lead Team Manitoba into the opening ceremony,” said Vermette. “This is my first Canada Games, and I am looking forward to the whole experience – on and off the court. I’ve been training for years for this opportunity and I’m excited to get back into competition coming out of the pandemic.”

Vermette is one of 370 athletes who will compete for Team Manitoba at the Games between August 6-21, and truly exemplifies what the Canada Games are all about: passion, performance, and provincial pride. She has achieved remarkable individual and team success while serving as a role model for those on their way up. 

The athletes will join 90 coaches, managers, and technical support staff, and 25 mission staff to participate in all 18 sports over the duration of the 2022 Canada Summer Games. 

“Congratulations to all of the members of Team Manitoba at this year’s Canada Summer Games,” said Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Andrew Smith. “To this year’s flag bearers, you share an honour with those that have gone on to be champions and top competitors in their sport. I know you will represent our province with the utmost character and dedication.”

Chef de Mission Drew Todd is looking forward to his first Games as Chef with Team Manitoba. 

“The opportunity to attend an event like the Canada Games is more meaningful now than ever before. We’ve all worked tirelessly over the years with all the starts, stops, and uncertainties in order to make this team and represent our province at the highest level of sport. I am astounded by our athletes’ determination and grit knowing the hard work they’ve put in to get here, and I have the utmost confidence they are ready to shine on the national stage.”

Team Manitoba is proud to partner with Kenora Designs and Kahunaverse Sports as the suppliers for our 2022 Canada Summer Games walkout uniform. This year’s kit is designed to help us look our best while also performing our best. Each team member receives a jacket, two T-shirts, pants, shorts, a baseball hat, and a backpack, which will make the Herd the best-outfitted team at the Games.

 

TEAM MANITOBA FACTS AND FIGURES

Athletes: 370

  • Youngest: Daisy Larsen, 11, Canoe Kayak, Winnipeg
  • Oldest: Stephen Rozniatowski, 31, Athletics, Winnipeg

Coaches: 59

Managers: 20

Technical support staff: 11

Mission staff: 25

Sports: 18

 

Siblings:

  1. Attila and Zita Bernatsky, Diving, Winnipeg
  2. Merritt and Esme Boning, Canoe-Kayak, Winnipeg
  3. Izzi and Kyulin Fust, Basketball, Winnipeg
  4. Aidan and Aimee Gauthier, Cycling, Narol
  5. Natalie (Athletics) and Lindsey (Softball) Gundrum, Swan Lake
  6. Scarlett and Daisy Larsen, Canoe-Kayak, Winnipeg
  7. Dustin Morden (Lacrosse) + Dylan Morden (Softball), Winnipeg
  8. Kendra and Sydney Schram, Soccer, Brandon
  9. Halle and Mia West, Swimming, Winnipeg
  10. Hannah and William Wintoniw, Canoe-Kayak, Winnipeg
  11. Brianne and Brooklyn Zemliak, Rugby Sevens, Rivers

 

All in the Family:

  • Canoe-kayak’s boat driver Florian Haskerkehrer is a Games alum (Team Manitoba, 2017 CSG) whose younger brother, Jordi Haskerkehrer, made the team this year.
  • Coach Jerome Seremak has coached Team Manitoba’s canoe-kayak team since 1989. This year, his son Aleksander (Mowgli)Seremak made the team. 
  • Wrestling has a father-son duo: Coach Peter Becker and his son Brock.
  • Aidan and Aimee Gauthier (Cycling)’s mother Candace is a provincial mountain bike commissaire (official).
  • Halle and Mia West’s mother Riley West (nee Mants) swam in the  1996 Olympic Games for Team Canada.
  • Female softball manager Howard Kitchen is coach Holly Kitchen’s father.

 

Athletes who previously attended a Canada Games (self-identified):

  • Canada Winter Games 
    • 2019, Red Deer, AB: 3
    • 2015, Prince George, BC: 1
  • Canada Summer Games
    • 2017, Winnipeg, MB: 19
  • Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro: 21

 

Previous Games:
At the last Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg in 2017, Team Manitoba was represented by a team of 440 athletes, coaches, managers, and mission staff. Team Manitoba won 42 medals – 10 gold, 15 silver, and 17 bronze. Team Manitoba was awarded the Centennial Cup as the most improved team since 2013’s Summer Games in Sherbrooke, QC. Manitoba then became the winningest province or territory of this award and the only province or territory to have ever won back-to-back Centennial Cups at the Canada Summer Games.

Find Team Manitoba’s historical results and standings, here: https://www.sportmanitoba.ca/team-manitoba/history/ 

Find Team Manitoba’s roster for the 2022 Canada Summer Games, here.

For more on the 2022 Canada Summer Games, including competition schedules, results, and statistics, visit: https://niagara2022games.ca/