CGC names Mission Staff for 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA, July 20, 2011 - Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) today announced its mission staff for the upcoming 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, to be held on the Isle of Man from September 7-13, 2011.

Jim Bradley of Ajax, Ontario, will lead the mission team of 10 highly-qualified individuals who will provide expert support in Games management, operations, health care, and communications. Bradley, who has volunteered as Mission Staff at five previous Commonwealth Games, was appointed Chef de Mission in February of this year.

“This is a team that brings an abundance of expertise to these Games and, together, we’ll do everything we can to create the optimal competitive environment for our athletes, many of whom are destined to be the stars of the future,” said Bradley. “We’re also very excited about integrating the International Development through Sport (IDS) Unit into the mission staff for Isle of Man.”

IDS works in partnership with Commonwealth Games Associations and sport development organizations throughout the Commonwealth to deliver programs that use the power of sport to change the lives of young people. At the Youth Games on the Isle of Man, IDS will be promoting its Giving Back program which introduces young athletes to sport for development and encourages them to get involved in a variety of ways.

Canada will be sending a delegation of 56 athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 to the Commonwealth Youth Games, accompanied by 14 coaches and team managers. Canadian athletes will compete in six of the seven sports on the programme: Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, and Rugby 7’s. In total, 1,000 athletes from 69 Commonwealth member nations and territories will compete at the Youth Games.

The following is a list of mission staff members followed by brief biographies:

Games Management

• Jim Bradley (Ajax, ON) - Chef de Mission

• Scott Stevenson (Orleans, ON) - Director of Sport, CGC

Communications

• Derek Johnston (Orleans, ON)

Operations

• Kelly Laframboise (Limoges, ON) – Team Leader

• Monique Allain (Fredericton, NB)

• Hélène Lavigne (Toronto, ON)

• Christian Del Valle (Ottawa, ON) – IDS Giving Back Program

Medical

• Dr. Darrell Menard (Russell, ON) - Chief Medical Officer

• Susan Massitti (Calgary, AB) – Physical Therapist

• Mylène Boisvert (Mascouche, QC) - Therapist

MISSION STAFF BIOGRAPHIES

Games Management

• Jim Bradley (Ajax, ON) - Chef de Mission

  Jim is CEO of the Sport Alliance of Ontario, a not-for-profit organization that provides services assisting in the development and delivery of competitive and recreational sport in Ontario. As a dedicated volunteer, Jim has been part of five Commonwealth Games missions (1994, 1998, 2002 and the 2008 Youth Games) and most recently, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. A specialist in logistics and team travel, Jim coordinated all on-site transportation at the Delhi Games, and has been a volunteer Member-at-Large for Commonwealth Games Canada since 1994.

• Scott Stevenson (Orleans, ON) - Director of Sport, CGC

  Scott Stevenson has been CGC’s Director of Sport since 2007. He is responsible for strengthening CGC’s role in the Canadian sport community by working closely with national sport organizations and strategic partners. Together, they ensure that Canadian athletes and coaches are given every possible opportunity to achieve their performance goals. Among his most significant contributions to CGC were the leadership roles he assumed in preparing and guiding Canadian teams at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Communications

• Derek Johnston (Orleans, ON)

  Derek has been a member of the Team Canada Mission Staff at three Commonwealth Games (Kuala Lumpur in 1998, Manchester in 2002, and Press Chief at the Melbourne Games in 2006). Since 2009, he has led a team of communications professionals who deliver a wide range of products and services in support of CGC's strategic priorities as well as its day-to-day operations. For the 2010 Delhi Games, Derek provided extensive issue management and crisis communications counsel while overseeing media relations and web-based activities delivered by a Home Team of communicators based in Ottawa.

Operations

• Kelly Laframboise (Limoges, ON) – Team Leader

  Kelly is a 22-year veteran with Commonwealth Games Canada and one of the original staffers hired prior to the Auckland, New Zealand Games in 1990. She has been involved with behind-the-scenes administrative and logistic operations for six major Games and two Youth Games, along with managing the CGC office and supporting the Board of Directors and CEO.

• Monique Allain (Fredericton, NB)

  Monique is Director of Operations and Planning at the Health and Education Research Group in the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick. She has served on mission staff at various multi-sport Games including the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Summer Games, 2010 Olympic Winter Games, 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2003 and 2005 Canada Games. Monique is a part-time professor in physical education, a consultant in sport psychology, and is pursing a PhD in education/sport psychology. Her research is investigating how Canadian high performance athletes overcome challenges. Monique has also been a university and provincial level basketball coach and has coached over 70 teams.

• Hélène Lavigne (Toronto, ON)

  Originally from Montréal, Québec, Hélène is a freelance translator living in Toronto. She was a member of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Mission Staff in Delhi and contributed to the Communications Home Team in the lead-up and during the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. In addition to working and volunteering with CGC, Hélène translates various materials for corporate and non-profit clients.  

• Christian Del Valle (Ottawa, ON)

  Christian has been assisting CGC’s International Development through Sport (IDS) unit by developing fundraising strategy and formulating concise messaging for its mandate, programs and partnerships throughout Africa and the Caribbean. He is also responsible for the Sport Leadership Abroad Program and successfully coordinated CGC’s inaugural Game of Life Run/Walk in 2011. Christian holds a Masters degree in Sports Administration from the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology in Switzerland.

Medical

• Dr. Darrell Menard (Russell, ON) - Chief Medical Officer

  Darrell has competed on the world stage for more than 30 years as a nationally-ranked elite runner in everything from 800m to marathon distances. Today, he teaches sports medicine at the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University, and competes primarily in race walking. He also lectures around the world, and has been published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and the Oxford Textbook of Sports Medicine.

• Susan Massitti (Calgary, AB) - Physical Therapist

  Susan has attended Major Games, including 4 Olympic Games, as a licensed sports physical therapist for Team Canada since 1994 and looks forward to helping the athletes at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games. Susan has worked with athletes ranging from developmental to Olympic champions in numerous sports, sharing her wealth of orthopaedic sports expertise. The former Olympic speed skater is also a published author, course instructor for the National Coach’s Institute, and frequent lecturer on optimal recovery and regeneration, sport prehabilitation, and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

• Mylène Boisvert (Mascouche, QC) – Therapist

  Mylène has been an athletic therapist in the Canadian sport community since 2004. Prior to being selected for the 2011 Youth Games medical team, she served as a therapist during the 2007 and 2009 Canada Games and the 2009 Francophone Games. When she’s not helping Canadian athletes excel on the international stage, Mylène is pursuing a Masters degree in sport psychology at l’Université de Montréal.

About Commonwealth Games Canada

Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) is the international franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth movement in Canada, and an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community. The mission of Commonwealth Games Canada is to strengthen sport within Canada and throughout the Commonwealth, by participating in the Commonwealth Games and by using sport as a development tool.

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For more information, please contact:

Jim Bradley
CEO, Sport Alliance of Ontario
Office: 416-426-7074
Cell: 416-428-1282
jbradley@sportalliance.com

Scott Stevenson
Director of Sport, Commonwealth Games Canada
613-244-6868 ext. 224
scott@commonwealthgames.ca
www.commonwealthgames.ca