Team Nova Scotia Finishes with Gold

Team Nova Scotia finished its two weeks at the 2003 Canada Winter Games with a gold medal in boxing. Ryan White of Kennetcook fought for the medal in the 71 kg division on March 7.

The team finished in eighth place with eight medals. Athletes achieved many personal bests and greatly improved the rankings of many sports.

"Our athletes came to these Games aiming to do their best and many gave the best performances we've seen in 20 years," said Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald. "Our athletes represented our province well and made Nova Scotians proud."

While the team's medal count is down from the 1999, its Canada Games flag points improved in the sports in which it competed.

The system of flag points was developed by the Canada Games Council to level the playing field for all provinces and territories in determining their rankings at the end of the Games.

"The team with the most medals at the end of the Canada Games is not necessarily the one that ranks number one," said Mr. MacDonald.

Each sport has a maximum number of points assigned according to its technical package. When all sports are complete, the points for each sport for each province or territory are added together. The team having the highest point total is awarded the Canada Games Flag.

Nova Scotia had 128.5 points in 1999. For the 2003 Games, the team started off at a disadvantage because it didn't have athletes competing in three sports. These sports had given the team 14 flag points in 1999.

The 2003 team's strong performance in sports such as cross- country skiing, curling, hockey and shooting resulted in improved rankings and 117 flag points. If the team had competed in all sports, the flag points would have increased by three over the 1999 results.

Team Nova Scotia competed in 18 of the 21 sports represented during the two weeks of the Games from Feb. 22 to March 8. The team had 284 athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff.

Team Nova Scotia was funded by the Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission, a division of the Office of Health Promotion. Team Nova Scotia sponsors include Avis, Spring Rain, ATV, and Aliant. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation sponsors Team Atlantic -- supporting all teams from Atlantic Canada for the 2003 Games.

For more information on Team Nova Scotia and its sponsors, visit the Web site at http://winter2003.ns.canadagames.ca .