KERRY DANKERS

Kerry Dankers was a nine-year-old fan at the 1990 Saskatchewan Winter Games in Melville, but she says the experience serendipitously inspired her to hang up her figure skates for speed skates, ultimately leading her to compete at the Olympics. Kerry’s journey began after the Games, when the legacy facilities prompted the launch of Melville’s speed skating club. Kerry found herself at the club’s “Bring a Friend” event and says the experience sparked her intense passion for the sport from that day forward. Just four years later she proudly competed in the sport at the 1994 Winter Games in Kindersley for Zone 4. Fast forward to 1996, she switched it up and competed at the Summer Games for basketball. The next step for Kerry’s speed skating career was competing at the Canada Games in 1999 and 2003, and finally culminating at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. Kerry says when she walked into the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, she instantly thought back to her Saskatchewan and Canada Games experiences and how they prepared her to compete at the Olympic level. Looking back on her involvement with the Saskatchewan Games, she defines its legacy as the ability they have to inspire spectators to get involved with sport and feel a renewed passion for sport in the community.