British Columbia on Top after Week One of the 2009 Canada Summer Games
(August 23, 2009) Prince Edward Island – As week one athletes travel home, and week two athlete’s settle into the Games’ village, British Columbia leads the flag point count after the first half of the 2009 Canada Summer Games.
At each Canada Games, the province or territory with the greatest number of points from all events is declared the champions and presented with the Canada Games Flag at the televised closing ceremonies. Flag points are awarded to every athlete in every sport based on performance and participation and then aggregated for a provincial or territorial total. To date, only three provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, have won the Canada Games Flag.
After week one the following represents the flag points accumulated:
In 2005, at the Summer Games in Regina Saskatchewan, Ontario was the championship team, followed by British Columbia and then Quebec.
For week one at the 2009 Games, the sports included basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, diving, rowing, rugby, sailing, women’s soccer, women’s softball, tennis, triathlon and men’s wrestling. At the conclusion of each sport in the Games, each Province is ranked according to a system outlined in the sport's technical package. Canada Games Flag Points are then awarded. Week two sports include athletics, men’s baseball, canoe-kayak, golf, men’s soccer, swimming, volleyball and women’s wrestling. In the end, the team having the highest point total will be awarded the Canada Games Flag.
In addition to the flag point totals identifying the champions, the awarding of the Centennial Cup exemplifies the pan-Canadian sport development objective of the Canada Games. It is presented to the provincial or territorial team that shows the greatest improvement from one Summer Games to the next or from one Winter Games to the next within the same sports. The Centennial Cup has been won by 10 different provinces and territories since added to the Games in 1971. At this point in the Games, British Columbia is also in the lead to win the Centennial Cup having earned the highest number of Centennial Cup points with15.
For a complete list of flag points or Centennial Cup points please visit the results section on 2009canadagames.ca
