The Saskatchewan Games Council welcomes Kerry Dankers, OLY and Angella Pinay to its Board, with Leslie Blyth as new Chair
The Saskatchewan Games Council is thrilled to welcome Kerry Dankers and Angella Pinay to its Board of Directors and announce that Leslie Blyth will move into the role of Board Chair. The Council sends enormous gratitude to 2021-2023 Chair Amber Holland as she moves into the role of Past Chair, and to outgoing board members Darrell Baker and Dale Pitura for their years of service and dedication to supporting amateur sport development through multi-sport games in our province.
2006 Olympian Kerry Dankers (Simpson) brings a wealth of sport and games experience to the board as Member-at-Large. Currently the Business Operations Manager at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Dankers previously worked for Speed Skating Canada and was appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee as Media Attaché at the 2018 Olympics. She currently volunteers as Speed Skating Venue Lead for the upcoming Special Olympics Canada Winter Games Calgary 2024.
Originally from Melville, Dankers’ first experience with multi-sport games took place at the 1994 Saskatchewan Winter Games, where she competed in Speed Skating. She also took part in the 1996 Saskatchewan Summer Games and the 1999 and 2003 Canada Winter Games, where she won four gold medals for Team Saskatchewan and broke four Canada Games records. In 2003, she began competing as a national team athlete in Speed Skating until her retirement from the sport in 2010.
Angella Pinay of Zagime Anishinabek joins the Council as its new Sask Sport Inc. voting member representative. Pinay has served on the Sask Sport Inc. board since 2011, including as its Chair from 2020-2021. With a professional background as an educator and superintendent, Pinay is a key member of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education leadership team, where she guides policy and implementation as Senior Indigenous Advisor.
A Team Saskatchewan alumna who has participated in five editions of the North American Indigenous Games as an athlete and coach, Pinay is a long-time supporter of amateur sport in Saskatchewan. In addition to her involvement with Sask Sport, Pinay has also served on the boards of Sask Volleyball and Sask Soccer.
Dankers and Pinay were named to the board following the Council’s Annual General Meeting on June 10th. The end of the 2022/2023 year also marked the end of Amber Holland’s two-year term as Board Chair. The Saskatchewan Games Council is extremely grateful for her tireless leadership, commitment, and passion for sport throughout an extremely busy two years that saw the Council manage three multi-sport games, the 50th anniversary of the Saskatchewan Games program, and numerous pandemic-related manoeuvres.
During her tenure as Chair, Holland played a significant role in the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games in Regina as VP of Sport, volunteering countless hours of her time to make the Games a success. She also volunteered as mission staff for Team Sask at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. A world silver medalist and 2011 national Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion in curling, Holland continues to curl competitively with Team Holland, most recently at the 2022 Saskatchewan Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Alongside her work managing Harbor Golf Club in Elbow and helping to run her partner’s family farm, Holland will continue to serve on the board as Past Chair.
The Council also sends a warm welcome to Leslie Blyth in her new role as Chair. Blyth has been on the board since 2020 as its Sask Sport Inc. voting member representative and was nominated as Chair at the 2023 AGM. A retired educator and long-time advocate for sport, Blyth has been involved in the Saskatchewan sport system as a committed volunteer in numerous capacities for over two decades, and was honoured with a Volunteer Recognition Award at the 2020 Saskatchewan Sport Awards. Her role as Saskatchewan Games Council Chair follows previous terms as Chair of Sask Sport Inc. and President of Saskatchewan Soccer Association. The Council looks forward to the next two years under Blyth’s guidance.
Finally, the Council sends gratitude to its two outgoing board members Darrell Baker and Dale Pitura. Both Baker and Pitura served as Chair from 2011-2013 and 2019-2021, respectively; across two terms, Baker dedicated over ten years to the Saskatchewan Games Council, while Pitura served a total of eight years. Both have spent decades championing amateur sport in Saskatchewan through volunteerism. At the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, Baker was awarded the Sage Team Behind the Team award in recognition of his exceptional support as mission staff, a role he filled with passion and enthusiasm for Team Sask at numerous Canada Summer and Winter Games and Western Canada Summer Games over the past two decades. Pitura has also volunteered numerous times at multi-sport games in the roles of mission staff, medical liaison, and medical volunteer, utilizing his professional background as a physiotherapist. Both Baker and Pitura will be missed, and we are thankful for their leadership and dedication to growing the Saskatchewan Games Council into the organization it is today.
We send thanks to our entire board of directors for their skills, dedication, and passion for sport as we embark upon our 2023/2024 fiscal year and look ahead to many exciting initiatives for the Saskatchewan Games Council, Saskatchewan Games program, and Team Sask.
Masonga Chipanshi - Regina
Ryan LaRose - Saskatoon
Kerry Dankers - Calgary
Leslie Blyth - Regina
Amber Holland - Loreburn
Angella Pinay - Zagime Anishinabek
Dale Measner - Regina
David Sandormirsky - Regina
Mavis Dzaka - Saskatoon
Anne Weisgerber - Maple Creek