Canada Games torch relay covered by insurance COLIN MACLEAN Transcontinental Media

The 2009 Canada Games torch route was unveiled on Friday. Kicking off the ceremony with a carrying-in of the torch was athlete Connor McGuire, left, and Terry Shea, general manager of the P.E.I. Mutual Insurance Company. Transcontinental Media photo by Colin MacLean

SUMMERSIDE — It was announced Friday that a long-standing Island insurance company will be the title sponsor for the 2009 Canada Games torch relay.
The event, dubbed The P.E.I. Mutual 2009 Canada Games Torch Relay, will kick off at 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 subsequent 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.”
It was also announced Friday that torchbearers would 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 be allowed to 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 in local media starting on Monday.
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.
There will be 19 legs of the relay, which will cover 491 kilometers of Island highways. Runners will start each morning between 9 and 10 a.m. and will finish for the day between 3 and 5 p.m.
Organizers also hinted there will be a surprise carrier who will run the torch into the opening ceremonies.
The torch itself will zigzag its way across the province and pass through several communities including; Wood Islands, Montague, Cardigan, Souris, St. Peters, Stratford, Charlottetown, Cornwall, Crapaud, New Glasgow, Cavendish, Kensington, Abram-village, O’Leary, Tignish, Alberton, Tyne Valley, Wellington and Summerside.