Competing in track and field and canoe/kayak events, five young athletes from Canim Lake are headed to Toronto for the North American Indigenous Games, July 16-23.
Terrence Hubick-Archie, Trinity Jensen, and Quincy Archie are joining Team BC’s canoe/kayak squad with Stephan Theodore-Jensen joining as an alternate, while Taylor Daniels and Morris Bob will round out Team BC’s athletics competitors.
The North American Indigenous Games gather indigenous athletes from across Canada and the United States every two to three years for an athletic competition involving sports from archery to badminton and golf and wrestling.
The Canim Lake athletes were chosen through Team BC tryouts and athletic meets across British Columbia and have been practising hard since last fall.
“There’s quite a bit of work that goes into the tryouts and getting the kids prepared and trained,” says trainer Tish Diamond. Dennis Wick is the technical coach with the canoe and kayakers.
“They train twice a week minimum,” she says, alongside playing their other sports and taking part in weekend training or extra sports meets.
“The Canim Lake Band is dedicated to offering community members the opportunity to experience sports at the recreation and competitive level. They really support their youth in these types of endeavours,” she says.
The group headed to Toronto is supported by their teammates Lexus Amut, Alexis Archie, Jacie Gilbert and Julian Bob who have trained alongside them throughout the year, competing at high levels in the same events.
“The games are getting more competitive every time around it seems,” says coach Tish Diamond. “Some of the age categories were very competitive.”
Still, she says that whether the athletes win in British Columbia or Toronto, the games help develop character in the youth.
“I’ve really seen a lot of strength in the kids through all of this because they work hard, they try out and even if they don’t make these games they keep training for future competitions and future games. They keep going and that shows a lot,” she says.
In the past year, local athletes have seen success at the games. Soccer players at the 2006 Denver games came home with gold medals, while in Regina in 2014 Hubick-Archie and Theodore-Jensen came home with bronze medals in canoe/kayak.
But success isn’t everything for the athletes and for Diamond.
“It teaches them life skills and it builds confidence and when they learn new things they are more eager to come back and stay involved,” she says. “They come back and they feel more confident about their abilities. They’re more eager to try new things, to take part in things that are offered at other venues and even as they get older they stay involved,” says Diamond.
“My goal when I get over there is to have fun, do what I do best, which is canoe/kayak and hopefully make some new friends,” says Hubick-Archie.
Jensen echoes that sentiment: “Make new friends, race in the water and be happy,” she says.
“It’s not about winning or losing as long as you have a good time, and make new friends, have new experiences with everybody. I think that’s what the games are all about — coming together and accepting everyone’s beliefs,” says Theodore-Jensen.