The 11th annual Mountie Day celebration happened Thursday outside Tantramar’s municipal hall on Main Street in Sackville. The yearly event recognizes the contribution of Mount Allison’s student athletes to the campus and the wider community.
CHMA spoke with Deputy Mayor Matt Estabrooks, Mount Allison Athletics director Neil MacEachern, ‘Voice of the Mounties’ Steve Ridlington, and some of the roughly 40 Mountie athletes gathered for the event.
“I don’t think even the student athletes themselves realize the impact that they have in the community, especially on our youth,” said Deputy Mayor Estabrooks. “They contribute to all of our minor sports organizations. Football, hockey, soccer, swimming… they are there. And they don’t really realize just how important it is for our youth to have role models like that.”
Mt A interim director of athletics Neil MacEachern said he was pleased with the turnout, especially compared to reduced participation in the pandemic years. “They’re excited about today, and they’re excited about their banquet tonight,” said MacEachern, referring to the annual Night of the Mounties awards banquet which also took place Thursday.
Dozens of athletes and coaches were honoured, with volleyball Mountie Erica Astephen (Halifax, NS) and football Mountie Owen O’Neal (Sackville, NB) taking home athlete of the year awards. The full list is available here.
In his opening remarks on Thursday, Estabrooks noted some of the highlights of the 2024-25 athletics season, including an ACAA championship for the Mounties women’s volleyball team, and the Mounties badminton team number two national ranking.
Longtime Sackville resident and ‘Voice of the Mounties’ Steve Ridlington was at Thursday’s Mountie Day celebration, and told CHMA the student athletes provide “an incredible bridge between the community and the university,” and also give local fans “the opportunity to see some of the most advanced amateur athletes in the country.”
Among the roughly 40 student-athletes in attendance were hockey Mounties Virginia Harazny and Emily LeBlanc. The second year students from Wilcox, Saskatchewan and Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick said this was a development year for their team, but they are hopeful for the coming seasons. The Tantramar raising of the Mountie flag was “an awesome privilege”, said Harazny.
It was also a rebuilding year for the women’s soccer Mounties, said student-athlete Maeve Williams, but at the same time notes the larger value of her athletics experience. “This is how I’ve met all my friends,” said Williams. “It’s a really important part for me, playing sport at university. So getting to have a day where we’re appreciated is just really nice.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly labelled Steve Ridlington as the “retired” and “former” ‘Voice of the Mounties’. In fact, Mr. Ridlington remains an avid promoter of athletics at Mount Allison. We regret the error.
