Team NT is proud to announce that Sofia Ardiles will carry the NWT flag into the 2023 Canada Winter Games opening ceremony on Prince Edward Island on Saturday night.
Hot on the heels of the Arctic Winter Games just two weeks ago, the Canada Winter Games will see 95 NWT athletes travel to Charlottetown alongside 43 coaches and support staff.
Sofia, from Yellowknife, is part of an eight-person squash team travelling on Friday’s flight from Yellowknife to PEI ahead of the action beginning on Sunday.
“Sofia is definitely one of our up-and-coming squash players in our program here in Yellowknife, and our strongest female junior in the Northwest Territories,” coach Jeff Hipfner said.
“She’s been getting better at every tournament that she’s been going to with the experience that she’s been getting. She’s very dedicated to the sport. She’s helping out with Sunday squash with our next generation of squash players, and so she’s a fantastic advocate for the sport here in the North.”
Sofia says she is “really excited” to have the opportunity to lead Team NT into the opening ceremony.
“My goodness, wow, I get to carry the flag for all of Team NT. It’s crazy,” she said.
“I got inspired by one of my old teammates that graduated. When I was younger, I was playing squash and she was coaching me and I was like, maybe I can do that one day and honour the NWT.
“She gave me some pins that she collected at her last Canada Games that got me a little more inspired. At school, in one of our classes, we got to make anything we wanted – and I decided to make Canada Games pins.”
Other sports where Team NT will be in action during the first full week of the 2023 Canada Winter Games are karate, female curling, male hockey, speed skating and table tennis.
Week two brings female hockey, archery, badminton, cross-country skiing, male and mixed curling, figure skating and snowboarding.
