A friendly red fox who goes by the name Nanguz and whose tail is in the colours of the northern lights will be the mascot for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
The creation of Kaitlyn Muir, a Grade 5 student at Hart Highlands Elementary School, Nanguz was unveiled Tuesday as the winner between three finalists of an online vote that drew nearly 3,000 ballots from across Canada.
Nanguz, whose name is Dakelh Carrier word for fox, lives in a den on the edge of the forest near the Fraser River and plays all 19 sports to be hosted at the Games and embodies the spirit of fun, fair play and integrity, a throng of youngsters learned during a ceremony at the YMCA of Northern B.C.'s Highland Family Development Centre.
Muir was thrilled to see her entry emerge the winner.
"I'm very excited," she said.
The nearly 400 youngsters who entered the contest had six animals to choose from. Muir selected the fox because there are so many of them at her grandmother's home. She came up with the story during the couple hours she took to draw her picture for the entry.
As for the name, she learned it when a native elder came to her school a couple years ago.
"She taught us a whole bunch of native words," Muir said.
Nanguz will be made into a giant mascot who will make appearances at the CWG venues when the Games are held in February next year, and a stuffed toy that will be available for purchase.
"The mascot is the face of the Games, really," said CWG communications and community relations manager Alyson Gourley-Cramer. "It's the spirit of the Games, it's the spirit of good will.
"For us it was a really great way to personify a northern B.C. animal and really share that story with the rest of Canada. It's a fun and really useful element of the Games."
For her efforts, Muir will be one of the Canada Winter Games torch bearers and receive a three-month YMCA family membership and a 2015 Games gear package. And her class will enjoy a pizza party with Nanguz in June.
The two other finalists were Spruce the Moose by Hannah Gibson, a Grade 7 student at Quinson Elementary School, and Fraser the Eagle by Isabel Stratton, a Grade 7 student at College Heights Elementary School.
Nanguz's first public appearance will occur on June 1 at the YMCA of Northern B.C.'s Healthy Kids Day at Masich Stadium.
