For immediate release

Nova Scotia athletes take on the world

Halifax, NS (Thursday, January 15, 2009) – Nova Scotian athletes stood out on the world stage with excellent performances during the month of December.

Denise Robson, 40, of Dartmouth was named Cleve’s Source for Sports / New Balance Female Athlete of the Month. At the California International Marathon, from Folsom to Sacramento, she placed fourth competing against more than 2000 women. She was also first in the Masters Division (40 and older) with a record time of 2:41:12. This was the third fastest marathon time in Canada this year. Robson was also recently invited to run in the elite women’s division at the Boston Marathon.

Mark MacPhail, 32, of Ben Eoin was named Cleve’s Source for Sports / New Balance Male Athlete of the Month. Competing in the Arm Wrestling World Championships, he took home a bronze medal, the only Canadian to hit the podium in all of the right-hand classes. MacPhail has won three gold and six silver medals in the Canadian Championships and has been named twice as Inverness Athlete of the Year. This was MacPhail’s best-ever finish at the World Championships.

Denise Haynes, 19, was named Cleve’s Source for Sports / New Balance Female Team Athlete of the Month. Haynes and her partner Christine Richardson of Regina, Saskatchewan won a bronze medal in the girls-18-and-under doubles competition at the World Junior Racquetball Championships in Tempe, Arizona. Haynes won the national championship in girls-18-and-under singles in April, and was then named to the Junior National Team. The World Juniors brings together the Junior National Teams of member countries, and is the top competition in the world for junior athletes.

Jacob Chaplin-Saunders and Joss Warren were named Cleve’s Source for Sports / New Balance Team of the Month after the best Canadian result ever in the Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami Florida. The team sails in the double-handed 420 class, and finished ninth out of 123 boats at the regatta. Both Chaplin-Saunders and Warren are expected to do well at the upcoming February Florida Regatta, where they will have the chance to qualify as the Canadian representative for the World Youth Sailing Championships.

The Cleve’s Source for Sports / New Balance Athlete of the Month program is administered by Sport Nova Scotia, whose members are eligible to nominate athletes for the awards. A membership committee selects the award recipients for five possible categories: Male Individual Athlete, Female Individual Athlete, Male Team Athlete, Female Team Athlete, and Team. For more information about the awards, please visit www.sportnovascotia.ca.

Sport Nova Scotia is a voice for amateur sport that promotes the benefits of health, personal development and achievement of all participants. Sport Nova Scotia is a non-profit, non-government organization representing over 60 provincial sport organizations and more than 160,000 member Nova Scotians.

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For More Information:

Catherine McKellar
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Sport Nova Scotia
902-425-5450 ext.321
cmckellar@sportnovascotia.ca