Skip to content

Local duo on Team BC for 2015 Western Canada Summer Games

Don Sharpe and Danelle Kabush will be boosting B.C. next August in Alberta
19851comox09donheadshot
Don Sharpe is Assistant Chef de Mission with Team BC for the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games

The Team BC mission staff that will lead the provincial team competing at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alberta next August has a Comox Valley connection.

Don Sharpe of Comox is with the Management Team as Assistant Chef de Mission while Danelle Kabush, who grew up in Courtenay and now lives in Victoria, is a Mental Performance Consultant as part of the Mission Staff.

Sharpe is the Director of Operations and Marketing for Mount Washington Alpine Resort in Courtenay and he brings his extensive experience managing a large staff and multiple operations.

Sharpe had a lead role directing the activities for hosting over 200 Olympic athletes prior to the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics. As a co-founder of the Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society he has spearheaded initiatives to support emerging high-performance athletes.

“I am very excited to join Team BC on its journey to the Western Canada Summer Games,” said Sharpe when his appointment was announced earlier this year.  “I have a passion for sport and its impact on youth and our communities.  I am looking forward to assisting in getting outstanding results and in putting together a great team."

Kabush was a runner in high school and university and after injuring her achilles while training for the world cross-country championships switched to mountain biking at the suggestion of her brother Geoff, a Canadian MTB champ and three-time Olympian.

She completed her doctorate in Sport Psychology and is a certified Mental Performance Consultant with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association. Kabush has been racing Xterra triathlons with the Luna pro team since 2008.

Team BC Chef de Mission, Diane St-Denis, will lead the mission staff members who will provide administrative, logistical, and performance preparation support for the athletes and coaches attending the Games.

 

“Announcing the Team BC mission staff is an exciting reminder that the Western Canada Summer Games are less than a year away,” said Coralee Oakes, B.C. Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “I offer my congratulations to the mission staff and to all athletes, coaches, and managers as this final year of training and preparation begins.”

The Western Canada Summer Games are held every four years, and are a key step in the development of Canada’s amateur athletes. Team BC will send 450 athletes, coaches, support staff, and mission staff to the Aug. 7-16 Games.

 

The Western Canada Summer Games take place every four years with participation from the four western provinces and three territories in Canada. The 2015 Western Canada Summer Games will have approximately 2,550 athletes, coaches, managers and officials in 18 sports.