Canadian Olympic Committee Introduces Members of the 2012 Canadian Youth Olympic Team Support Team
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced today three more members of the support team for the 2012 Canadian Youth Olympic Team.
Dr. Jack Ceaser will serve as the team’s Chief Medical Officer, Élise Desjardins has been named Canada’s Young Ambassador and Emily Ridlington will attend her second Youth Olympic Games as a Young Reporter. They join double Olympic medallist Beckie Scott, who was named Chef de Mission for the Canadian Youth Olympic Team this past March.
Dr. Ceaser practices comprehensive family medicine and sport & exercise medicine in Sudbury, Ont. and is an assistant professor with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Dr. Ceaser is one of the team physicians for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves and has volunteered at the last two Canada Games.
“To be able to say that I am part of this team feels fantastic,” Dr. Ceaser said. “I’ve been a fan of the Olympic Games since I was very young and I’ve wanted to be involved in any capacity. These new Games will be an exciting experience and I hope to uphold the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.”
Élise Desjardins is completing her Master’s Thesis in Sport Management at the University of Ottawa, where she was a varsity soccer player and a three-year team captain.
“I’ve been involved in sport all my life, so the opportunity to work with the COC is a huge honour,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working with the athletes. It’s such a fun, interesting age (14-18 years of age) and they’re already elite athletes! I want to make a positive impact on their experience.”
Emily Ridlington reprises her role in the International Olympic Committee’s Young Reporters programme after her experience at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last year.
“It was an honour to go once; twice is just an amazing bonus,” said the Nunavut-based reporter. “I’m looking forward to seeing some of the people I made a great connection with in Singapore. It will be a smaller, tighter Village, so I’m looking forward to that feeling of comunity.”
The inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place from January 13 – 22, 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria, site of the 1964 and 1976 Olympic Winter Games.
