Interview with Jonathan Younker

Partial Transcript: I was born May 6th, 1975 in Lennoxville, Quebec, where I lived until I went to university and then, um, I've lived in many other places but right now I live in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan tells us a little about himself including where he was born, where he grew up, and where he lives now.

Keywords: Lennoxville; Ontario; Quebec; St. Catharines

Partial Transcript: I participated in track and field, more specifically triple jump in the 1997 Summer Canada Games in Brandon, Manitoba.

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan describes his involvement in the 1997 Canada Summer Games in Brandon, Manitoba.

Keywords: Brandon; Canada Summer Games; Manitoba; Triple Jump

Partial Transcript: Yeah, so, you know preparing for this interview, it's not something I necessarily thought about all the details about, but, there are some stories that started to bubble up...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan talks about what it was like to travel to the Canada Games, how they got there, and the travel/sightseeing that took place at the Games once in Manitoba.

Keywords: Airplane; Brandon; Brandon University; Bus; Field; Team Quebec; Track & Field

Subjects: Friendships at the Canada Games; Travel to the Canada Games

Partial Transcript: Yeah, from what I remember of course, we always had training in the morning. So, we were at Brandon and they converted, for us at least, the classrooms into big residence halls...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan discusses the athlete village at Brandon, and the socialization he experienced with his Team Quebec teammates during the Games.

Keywords: Athletes; Brandon University; Bunk Beds; Eating; French; Friends; Group; Showers; Team Quebec; Track & Field

Subjects: Athlete Mentality in Competitions; Francophones and Anglophones; Friendships at the Canada Games

Partial Transcript: So, for me it was a really different experience in that up until that point my focus had been on intercollegiate sports, intercollegiate competition...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan discusses what it was like to compete against other athletes in his triple jump competitions, and his mentality as an athlete at the Games. He shows some of the gear and memorabilia that he kept from the 1997 Games.

Keywords: Competition; Gear; Jacket; Pins; Shoes; Training; Triple Jump

Subjects: Athlete Mentality in Competitions; Friendships at the Canada Games; Health & Healthcare

Partial Transcript: Yeah I'll start with the pins. That was interesting to me, I'd never done that, in fact I didn't even know that was a thing. And lots of us on our team didn't know what this was about...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan talks about what it was like to trade and collect pins at the 1997 Canada Summer Games.

Keywords: Ice breaker; Pin(s)

Subjects: Friendships at the Canada Games; Pin collecting

Partial Transcript: Yeah I do keep in contact with my co-triple jumper. So there were two of us from Quebec in triple jump who qualified. I've kept in contact with him over the years.

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan talks about the friendships he made at the Canada Games and how they have continued throughout his life.

Keywords: Coaches; Competition; Triple Jump; Western University

Subjects: Friendships at the Canada Games

Partial Transcript: I mean the bilingual thing that's always a, that's always a... not an issue but it was interesting growing up. It's not something that I, when you're in that environment in an Anglophone community in a Francophone province that you necessarily focus on all that much.

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan discusses his experience as an English-speaker on Team Quebec, and the language barriers he experienced.

Keywords: Bilingual; Event Group; French; Team Quebec; University of Sherbrooke; Western University

Subjects: Canadian Identity; Francophones and Anglophones; Friendships at the Canada Games

Partial Transcript: Yeah, so like I mentioned it, um, it had a lasting impact in terms of... and I want to be specific about that the competition, how I fared in the competition itself was disappointing to me, and I've held on to that...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan discusses how the Canada Games helped him better understand his Quebec teammates and how athletes experienced Canadian nationalism in different ways.

Keywords: Anglophone; Competition; Francophone; Nationalism; Quebec; Quebec Separatism

Subjects: Athlete Mentality in Competitions; Canadian Identity; Career Impacts; Francophones and Anglophones

Partial Transcript: Yeah, um, I think you know given some time to look back on it, as we've been talking here, it was a foundational experience for me not just as an athlete...

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan talks about how the Games shaped his worldview and how he understood what it meant to be Canadian. He also talks about how he became involved in the organization of the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara.

Keywords: Nationalism; Niagara; United States

Subjects: Canadian Identity; Career Impacts; Francophones and Anglophones

Partial Transcript: Well, obviously with my research project it puts a different spin on things and so collecting, much like you're doing with stories about the Games themselves in Niagara, and that'll be a primary focus.

Segment Synopsis: Jonathan talks about his interest in seeing what the legacy of the Canada Summer Games will be in Niagara.

Keywords: Facilities; Indoor Track; Niagara; Track & Field

Subjects: 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara; Built Legacy