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CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM NAMED AHEAD OF 2022 SASKATCHEWAN WINTER GAMES IN REGINA
Chair Valerie Sluth and Vice Chairs Crystal Longman and Dawn Kobayashi will lead the volunteer Host Society as it prepares for the Games

REGINA, SK – The core team leading the volunteer Host Society that will steer the planning and delivery of the 2022 Saskatchewan Winter Games in Regina was announced today, with Regina's Valerie Sluth named as Chairperson. Crystal Longman of George Gordon First Nation and Dawn Kobayashi of Regina will act as Vice Chairs.

Sluth is the founder and CEO of Praxis Consulting, Saskatchewan's largest locally-owned management consulting firm. In addition to her extensive experience in management consulting and corporate governance, Sluth has a long history of sport involvement, stemming from her experience as a national-level synchronized swimmer. Sluth is a respected community leader with a passion for mentoring women entrepreneurs through her involvement as the RBC Executive Woman in Residence at the Hill and Levene Schools of Business. She was named one of Canada's most powerful women in sport by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity for her work on the 2005 Canada Summer Games and has been honoured as a Women of Distinction by the Regina YWCA.

Longman, who will serve as Vice Chair of Athlete Experience and Inclusion, works as a Community Consultant with the Prairie Central District for Sport, Culture and Recreation. Throughout her career as a recreation professional, Longman has held roles with the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association and Touchwood Agency Tribal Council. Early in her career, Longman spent five years teaching English in South America and the South Pacific. A University of Regina alumna, she is a former competitive judoka with a wide breadth of experience in multi-sport games – first as an athlete at the Canada Games and North American Indigenous Games, and later as an administrator and mission staff, including for Team Sask at the 2019 Canada Winter Games and multiple editions of the Tony Cote First Nations Games.

Rounding out the leadership team as Vice Chair of Operations and Project Management is Regina's Dawn Kobayashi, co-owner of Kebo Management Inc. Prior to management consulting, Kobayashi worked in agricultural lending and was a staff member for the 2005 Canada Summer Games in Regina. In her volunteering career, Kobayashi has been heavily involved in the sport and cultural sectors, serving terms on the Sask Sport Inc. and Active Saskatchewan boards and acting as Chair of Volunteers for the 2013 Grey Cup Festival and 2013 Juno Awards in Regina. During her four years on the board of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, she led and implemented the team’s volunteer customer service and experience programs. Additionally, she has twice been honoured as a Women of Distinction nominee by the Regina YMCA.

This summer, Sluth, Longman and Kobayashi will be recruiting individuals to head up various key functional areas, with a focus on providing mentorship opportunities to diverse up-and-coming leaders in Regina.

Nearly 1,600 young athletes from every corner of the province will gather in Regina to compete in the Saskatchewan Winter Games from February 20th – 26th, 2022. This edition of the biennial event will have special significance, as it will mark the 50th anniversary of the Saskatchewan Games program, which alternates between summer and winter events on corresponding Olympic years. Regina will require up to 1,200 volunteers to host the Games.

About the Saskatchewan Games: First established in 1972, the purpose of the Saskatchewan Games is to provide an opportunity for the province’s developing athletes, coaches and officials to participate in an exciting multi-sport event in preparation for a higher level of competition. Countless Saskatchewan Games alumni have advanced to competition at the national level and beyond, with Olympians such as Emily Clarke, Marsha Hudey and Lucas Makowsky counting the Saskatchewan Winter Games as a key step in their journey to the highest levels of sport. The Saskatchewan Games also leave behind valuable legacies that benefit each host community for years to come. To learn more, visit saskgames.ca.

Quotes:
"The Saskatchewan Games is critical to the development of athletes and active communities in our province and I am thrilled to be able to lead such an important event. Our goal is to leverage this event as a springboard for leadership development across all demographics so we can secure an exciting future for the Games and volunteerism.” -- Valerie Sluth, Chair, 2022 Saskatchewan Winter Games Host Society
“We couldn’t be more impressed with the team named to lead the 2022 Saskatchewan Winter Games Host Society. Valerie, Crystal and Dawn are all very talented leaders with huge passions for sport, community, and inclusion, and we know that the experience offered to participants in the 2022 Games will be exceptional and will create long-lasting memories. The Saskatchewan Games Council is extremely proud to support this team in the planning and delivery of the 50th Anniversary edition of the Saskatchewan Games.” -- Mark Bracken, Executive Director, Saskatchewan Games Council