Torch relay will open Canada Games

Summerside - Plans were revealed Friday for the P.E.I. Mutual 2009 Canada Games Torch Relay. The event will kick off at approximately 9:30 a.m. at Wood Islands on Aug. 10 and will last five days.
"We felt it (the torch relay) fit P.E.I. Mutual like a glove," said Terry Shea, general manager of the P.E.I. Mutual Insurance Company, on why his company decided to be a sponsor. "The relay is going to be travelling to all the different communities of P.E.I., all the communities that we do business in."
The torch will make its journey across the Island, being passed from runner to runner, until it hits Tignish and returns to Summerside for the opening ceremonies on Aug. 15.
Joseph Spriet, president of the 2009 Canada Games, expressed his excitement at the prospect of the upcoming relay and the Games.
"This torch relay kickoff is actually a real beginning of getting the Games going in our community," said Spriet.
"Our Games will unite P.E.I. from one tip of the province to the other in celebration of the opportunity to show the rest of the country what Prince Edward Island is all about."
Torchbearers will be chosen via public competition. "It's probably the only fair way to go about selecting the various folks who are actually going to be carrying the torch," added Spriet.
Groups, consisting of five to seven individuals, will apply for a chance to carry the torch for a 12-kilometre section of highway. Entries will be judged on their creativity and can be a video, collage, essay, poem, or other. The competition is open to residents of P.E.I. only and will be advertised starting on Monday.
Organizers also hinted there will be a surprise carrier who will run the torch into the opening ceremonies.
Anyone who would like to pick up an application form can do so by visiting www.2009canadagames.ca, by visiting either the Summerside of Charlottetown offices of the Canada Games or by contacting the P.E.I. Mutual Insurance Company.