The Canada Games are fortunate to have had incredible volunteers at every edition of the Games over our 60 year history.

At the St. John’s 2025 Canada Games last summer, Norm Higdon won a Paul Flaherty Volunteer Appreciation Award, after receiving several nominations from athletes, National Sport Organization staff, fellow volunteers, and more, as a Sport Rep for swimming. And more recently, he was honoured by Swimming Canada as the 2025 Volunteer of the Year for his time, dedication, and expertise at the Games.

While it wasn’t always smooth sailing in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital last year, Norm's raison d’etre was front and centre.

“I won't lie, there were a couple of times I questioned why am I doing this,” he said. “It always came back to providing the best experience for athletes, coaches, parents and spectators in the true spirit of the Games, while representing the province and community.”

In his nearly 30 years of dedication to swimming, Norm had previously attended the Winnipeg 2017 Canada Games as a Technical Official. He was ready to take on a similar role when the Games returned to his home province in 2025, but he was approached to take on a role with extended responsibilities and an 18 month time commitment.

And that’s part of the beauty of the Canada Games, and one reason this award-winner would encourage anyone to get involved in the Québec 2027 Canada Winter Games or the Moncton - Saint John 2029 Canada Summer Games.

“There are roles for everyone in many areas; some positions start many months prior to the games while other positions are a couple of weeks before, all with different levels of responsibility and time commitment,” Norm said. “In the beginning, I was learning with everyone else – what was my role, how the Games worked – but this became easy with great support from the Host Society and Canada Games staff.”

Looking back to August of last year, the images stuck in Norm’s mind are of the Aquarena at its best. After extensive renovations, just seeing everything set up and ready for competition, before any athletes or officials took their places on the deck was a point of pride. And then to see it in action? That was Norm’s other favourite memory: a packed Aquarena, swimmers competing for a Canada Games medal, and the sound of fellow athletes, coaches, fans, and family cheering them on.