Athlete Hayden Kot described the Canada Games as a "mini-Olympics" and said she's focused on making the most of her experience. (Joshua Potter/980 CJME)

2025 Canada Games flag bearer sees it as ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’

By Marija Robinson Jul 28, 2025 | 4:45 PM

With most athletes specializing in a single sport, 16-year-old Hayden Kot is an anomaly.

The Regina athlete from Dr. Martin Leboldus high school will represent Team Saskatchewan both basketball and volleyball, at the upcoming 2025 Canada Games in St. John’s, NL.

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If competing in two sports and being named the captain of the volleyball team wasn’t memorable enough, Kot has also been selected as the team’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies on Aug. 9.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity going to Canada Games, yet alone being named the flag-bearer,” she said.

Kot found out about the title after a volleyball match in Niagara Falls, ON, last week.

“I went and hugged my volleyball coach because I knew she nominated me. And then I went and told my mom and my sister, who were there watching me. And it was just a very heartfelt moment,” she said.

While she’s excited for what’s to come, competing in two disciplines won’t be easy, with Kot playing basketball during the first week of the games and volleyball during the second.

It gives Kot minimal recovery time — but that’s what she prefers.

“I don’t get sore as easily and it just gives my body more time to keep moving,” she said, adding that when she does take time to recover, ice baths will be part of the plan.

Kot said she hopes to pursue post-secondary basketball, but she’s equally excited to play both sports in the coming weeks.

“They’re two totally different sports, and they have totally different dynamics, which I also love,” she said.

After seeing how his skills translate against the rest of the country, athlete Joseph Lippai has hopes of playing college basketball. (Marija Robinson/980 CJME)

‘We’re small but we’re mighty’

An athlete that has picked a clear favourite, though, is 17-year-old basketball player Joseph Lippai.

Lippai, who goes to Regina’s Michael A. Riffel high school, has been playing the sport since he was five.

Twelve years and several growth spurts later, Lippai is ready to put his skills to the test and see how Saskatchewan compares to “teams that are better than us.”

“It’ll be an eye opener, for sure, to see how well these other provinces are and how we stack up against them,” he said.

Even if Lippai isn’t expecting to take home a gold medal, Saskatchewan Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Alana Ross said these athletes foster pride in the province.

“We’re small but we’re mighty, and you see that in so many areas. And you know, we’ve had so many successful athletes coming out of our province,” she said. “How can you help but be not be proud of them and proud of Saskatchewan?”

That province-wide support is felt by Team Saskatchewan’s athletes, according to Kot, and it trickles down to the way they treat one another.

“We’re so tight-knit in Saskatchewan,” she said, noting how the athletes root for each other and cheer on their successes.