Kraft Heinz and TSN Inspire Communities Across Canada to Build Better Places to Play With The Return Of Kraft Heinz Project Play
– Partnering for an 8th consecutive year, Kraft Heinz and TSN encourage Canadians to nominate a local recreation project at KraftHeinzProjectPlay.comfor a chance to win infrastructure upgrades –
– The Grand Prize winner will receive $250,000 towards a recreational facility upgrade, and the three second-prize winners will each receive $20,000
– TSN’s James Duthie, Jennifer Hedger, Jason deVos, Milt Stegall, and Tessa Bonhomme rally behind this year’s Kraft Heinz Project Play campaign as new program ambassadors –
TORONTO (May 2, 2016) – Vibrant communities start from the ground up. From soccer fields to basketball courts to playgrounds, the places where Canadians play bring communities to life. That’s why Kraft Heinz Project Play, together with Bell Media’s TSN and RDS, are encouraging Canadians to start building a better future by building better places to play. Kicking off today, Kraft Heinz Project Play invites Canadians nationwide to nominate a local recreation project – be it new or existing – at KraftHeinzProjectPlay.com for a chance to win infrastructure upgrades. The Grand Prize winner will receive $250,000 towards a recreational facility upgrade, and the three second-prize winners will each receive $20,000.
“With crumbling facilities, fields, and equipment, combined with growing financial pressures, our country’s places to play are in desperate need of upgrades,” said Joanna Milroy, Marketing Director, Kraft Heinz. “Kraft Heinz Project Play is a wonderful opportunity for us to rally behind communities, and leave a lasting impact on the vital places we play in our local cities and towns.”
Kraft Heinz Project Play is once again partnering with Bell Media’s TSN and RDS, marking the eighth consecutive year of their partnership. TSN and RDS will amplify Kraft Heinz Project Play by integrating the program across their industry-leading platforms, with TSN showcasing Kraft Heinz Project Play on SPORTSCENTRE – Canada’s most-watched sports news and information show, on TSN.ca, as well as on TSN’s official Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat accounts.
New this year, TSN’s James Duthie is joining the Kraft Heinz Project Play team as a Program Ambassador, alongside SPORTSCENTRE hosts Jennifer Hedger and Tessa Bonhomme, TSN soccer analyst Jason deVos, and CFL ON TSN analyst Milt Stegall. Through their passion for sport, TSN’s roster of Program Ambassadors will encourage Canadians to build better places to play in their communities, and will also be featured in a series of testimonial videos that will debut at KraftHeinzProjectPlay.com and on TSN’s social media in the coming weeks.
“It’s an honour to join this year’s Kraft Heinz Project Play as a Program Ambassador alongside my friends Jen, Jason, Milt, and Tessa,” said James Duthie. “As a dad of some very active kids, there’s nothing better than seeing them play outside. Kraft Heinz Project Play is all about building more places to play for our kids and for our communities, and that’s something I’m proud to be a part of.”
Over the past eleven years, Kraft Heinz has supported 157 communities, contributing more than $4.5 million dollars to play-based infrastructure projects across Canada.
Nominate Your Community Today!
Beginning today (May 2) through June 12, Canadians can nominate the places, spaces, and projects that keep our communities playing, active, and united at KraftHeinzProjectPlay.com.
The top four Kraft Heinz Project Play finalists will be announced July 8 on TSN. Canadians can then vote for their favourite community project at KraftHeinzProjectPlay.com beginning July 25 at 12 p.m. ET through to July 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The Kraft Heinz Project Play grand prize winner will be announced in August (date TBC) on TSN, winning a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) for a recreation facility upgrade. Three second-prize winners will each receive $20,000.
Learn more, share your story, and encourage others to nominate their own towns and cities on Facebook and Twitter using #PLACETOPLAY.
Team Alberta, The Game Before the Game
On the score card, the game begins at the first tee box. For the players however, it starts long before that. Team Alberta has been performing phenomenally well to start the 2016 season. The CN Future Links Pacific Championship in Kamloops turned out to be one of the best all-around tournaments in recent history for Alberta players, and the PGA Junior Masters was won by Team Alberta members on both the girls and boys sides. All of this considered, it is easy to get lost in the magic that seems to be happening on the course during tournament play. Although, if you asked the players, they’d tell you that magic has nothing to do with it.
Christopher Horton (right) take a minute to read the green on 9 during the practice round at The Dunes at Kamloops.
Tournament preparation for the budding Alberta Golf Team starts long before tee time, days before in fact. Competing in national events means extensive travel, often times all over the country. For the CN Future Links Pacific Championship in Kamloops, it was an eight hour bus ride through the Rockies that brought Team Alberta to the tournament. Once the team arrives at their destination, their pre-competition routine has all but begun. The day before official play begins, the team is up with the sunrise and on course for an early shot gun start. During their practice round, players need to fine tune their game, discuss strategy with their coaches, and familiarize themselves with a course that is miles from home.
Randy Robb discusses strategy with two of his players during the practice round at The Dunes at Kamloops.
Team Alberta’s day is far from over when they step off the course. Team meetings, healthy meals, and an evening yoga session are awaiting them upon arrival back at the hotel. Amongst this extensive routine, the players find support in each other in order to relax and mentally prepare for the busy few days of competition ahead of them. Finally, last minute adjustments are put in place at early driving range and putting green sessions the morning of the opening round. With that, the game before the game comes to an end, and the competitors make their way to the tee box with the hope that all their hard work will translate to low scores for themselves and their teammates. The video (below) chronicles the events discussed above, providing a behind the scenes look into Team Alberta’s early success so far this season.
2016 Team Alberta Announced
CALGARY – Team Alberta 2016 has been announced for the upcoming season. Overall, the team is comprised of nine male players, eight female players and nine boys on the development team. The 26 players will represent the province of Alberta over the course of the 2016 season and will participate in a variety of provincial, national, and international events.
Returning to Team Alberta is Brendan McDougall, one of three players from last year’s team with a runner-up finish at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship. Landon Stellingwerff makes his return to Team Alberta after a T25 finish at the Glencoe Invitational in 2015. Logan Carver who finished T7 at the PGA Junior Masters in 2015, also makes his return to the team.
Several players from the 2015 Boy’s Development Team made the jump to Team Alberta in 2016. Those players include Max Sekulic, winner of the 2015 Nike Golf Junior Championship, Ethan Choi, 2015 Alberta Bantam Champion, and Michael Lavorato, who finished T7 at the PGA Junior Masters last year.
New to Alberta Golf’s High Performance Program is Chandler McDowell who represented Alberta at the Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo in 2015 where he placed third, earning a bronze medal in the individual competition. Chris Horton is another new player in the program, as well as Max Murchison whose highlights include a T7 at the Alberta Junior Boys Championship and 23rd at the CNFL Western Championship.
Returning to Team Alberta on the girl’s side is Sharmaine Rapisura, who boasts a win at the 2015 McLennan Ross Tour Championship most recently. Several girls from the 2015 Development Team have been promoted to Team Alberta in 2016 to join Rapisura. Kehler Koss, who finished runner up at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship, will be playing on the girl’s team. Annabelle Ackroyd and Jaden Baustad also join the team, with season highlights that include placing top ten in the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship.
New junior girls to Alberta Golf’s high performance programs include Claire Emery, who finished 7th at the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship, Lauren Koenig, who represented Alberta at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games, Cassidy Laidlaw, who finished 15th at the 2015 Alberta Junior Girls Championship and Sydney Weber, who had a 15th place finish at the 2015 CNFL Western Championship.
For more information on the players, visit https://albertagolf.org/youth-development/teamalberta/.
Alberta Golf’s three provincial coaches will continue to lead the way in helping players reach their goals over the course of 2016 and beyond. Each player has the opportunity to spend time with their respective coach planning and working on goals for the upcoming season, as well as the post-secondary transition. Randy Robb will provide guidance and experience to the Team Alberta Boys Team, Luke Workman will coach the Team Alberta Girls Team and John Deneer will coach the Boys Development Team.
“As we prepare for the first competitive events of the 2016 golf season, members of Team Alberta are working hard to improve their fitness levels and strengthen their fundamentals to help get off to a good start,” Randy Robb says. “I’m excited to help these young athletes reach their goals and prepare for college golf”.
“I am fortunate to be working with a group talented and hardworking young women on the Team Alberta Girls program. The players on the team all had a successful 2015 season, and they have been training hard over the winter months to surpass these results in 2016. With many new players joining Team Alberta for the 2016 season, the enthusiasm at our camps thus far has been outstanding.” Luke Workman explains. “I am looking forward to spring – and green grass – to see these players represent Alberta over the course of the summer”.
For more information on our provincial coaches, visit https://albertagolf.org/meet-the-coaches/
About the program
The Team Alberta Training Program is focused on further developing the best golfers in the province to be competitive on a national stage. Selection for Team Alberta takes place in November of each year and is based on objective performance results (Order of Merit, Golf Canada and Alberta Golf), behavior and etiquette, which are further reviewed by the Alberta Golf Player Development Selection Committee. The teams are comprised of players who are not yet attending a post-secondary institution with a recognized golf program. At the end of 2015, one former Team Alberta player made the Team Canada Development Squad and one made the Golf Canada National Team.
About Team Alberta
The Team Alberta high performance program is focused at further developing the best golfers in the province to be competitive on the national stage. Program highlights include coaching by PGA of Canada certified golf coaches, training camps, monthly competitive matches, fitness testing, mental skills coaching and monitoring, access to shot by shot game analysis and much more. The goal of the Team Alberta program is to enhance and support the top players in the province. For more information on Team Alberta, visit https://albertagolf.org/youth-development/teamalberta/
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