Canadians Cast 33,018 Votes to Help Choose Official Mascot of TORONTO 2015 Games

Winning design to greet Canadians for first time on July 17

TORONTO, May 6, 2013 /CNW/ - The results from the nationwide online voting contest for the TORONTO 2015 mascot are in … but the winning mascot will not be revealed until July 17.

As of 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 5, more than 33,000 votes had been tallied at toronto2015mascot.ca in Canada's first online vote to determine the mascot for an international multi-sport Games.

The choice was not easy. The six finalists — all designed by teams of young Canadians — included a moose in running shoes, a Maple Leaf-headed beaver, a punk porcupine, a rainbow-hued owl, a rascally raccoon and twins wearing funky hats.

"Once again, congratulations and thank you to the young mascot design teams for all their hard work, as well as all the Canadians who took the time to get to know our Top 6 finalists and cast a vote," said Ian Troop, chief executive officer of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015).

"Over the next few weeks, our internal mascot team will be hard at work putting the finishing touches on the winning mascot before making its debut this summer," he added.

The Top 6 finalists are:

• Moose: Designed by best friends Phoebe Zhou, 13, and Carrie Chen, 14, from JB Tyrrell Senior Public School in Toronto;
  
  
• Beaver: Entered by siblings Kirollos Kilada, 15, Mira Kilada, 11, and their cousin Marco Adly, 13, from Mississauga, ON;
  
  
• Porcupine: Submitted by Grade 8 students Fiona Hong, 13, Michelle Ing, 13, Paige Kunihiro, 14, and Jenny Lee, 13, from Buttonville Public School in Markham, ON;
  
  
• Owl: Designed by Cindy Wang, 12, Marco Yang, 12, Eric Li, 12, Tommy Truong, 12, and Michelle Dong, 13, at JB Tyrrell Senior Public School in Toronto;
  
  
• Raccoon: Submitted by the youngest team remaining in the contest, Irene Gallido, 11, and Mariyalini Suresheaj, 12, from St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Toronto;
  
  
• The Twins: Created by Sabrina Tang and Victoria Lee, both aged 15, from Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

The six finalists were chosen by a panel of judges from the more than 4,130 entries submitted by teams of young designers, radiating out from the Games region to the Prairies and East and West Coasts of Canada. More than 15,000 young people participated in the TORONTO 2015 Mascot Creation Challenge, which officially closed on March 8.

Each submission was judged on its originality, kid appeal, how well it represented the Games region and Canada, and whether it embodied the spirit and values of the Games. To ensure fairness when Canadians voted, a professional artist illustrated the Top 6 designs using the same colour palette and style across the board while maintaining the integrity of each original design.

TO2015 will publish in-depth profiles of each of the Top 6 mascot teams on toronto2015.org in the run-up to the official mascot unveiling on July 17. The first profile is of the owl team; it will go live on May 9, followed by the beaver on May 16; the porcupine on May 23; the twins on May 30; the raccoon on June 6, and ending with the moose on June 13. The Mascot Diaries, a behind-the-scenes look at the TORONTO 2015 Mascot Creation Challenge, is also continuing at themascotdiaries.ca.

On July 17, the winning mascot will greet Canadians and the world for the first time. Over the next two years, the mascot will visit communities and schools throughout Ontario and Canada, welcome athletes and visitors from 41 countries in 2015 and appear on signage and merchandise, including the always popular collectible pins and plush toys.

All participants in the TORONTO 2015 Mascot Creation Challenge have received a special certificate by email from the Organizing Committee recognizing their contribution to the Games. The team with the winning design and its group leader will also receive a personal mascot visit after the big reveal this summer.

About the TORONTO 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games
The Pan American and Parapan American Games are one of the world's largest international multi-sport events, held every four years for athletes of the 41 member nations of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) and 28 member nations of the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC).  The Pan American Games are comprised of all Olympic Summer Games sports, as well as traditional Pan American sports, while the Parapan American Games are comprised of the majority of Paralympic Summer Games sports. The TORONTO 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games will draw more than 10,000 athletes, coaches and team officials and feature 51 sports in municipalities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe area. The TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10−26 and the Parapan American Games August 7-14. For more information about the Games, please visit toronto2015.org.

SOURCE: Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

Carlene Siopis
Manager, Marketing and Communications
TO2015
C: 647.206.0259
[email protected]