NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2014
TEAM BC ALL FIRED UP AFTER CLAIMING 19 MEDALS AT THE RANGE
Sisters win gold in athletics, girls’ volleyball move to playoffs
REGINA, SK –Team BC shooters claim 19 of 24 possible medals after two days of competitions! “This is the best performance of Team BC rifle team in the history of the Games,” said Lara Mussell, Team BC Chef de Mission. Team BC won an extraordinary seven gold medals, six silver and six bronze including triple gold-medalist Paige Mussell winning 3P, prone and overall leader of the 12 shooters in the U16 female category. Teammate Matthew Britton won gold in U16 male 3P and overall in his category as well as silver for U16 male prone.
The Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council started hosting provincial camps and rifle championships throughout British Columbia three years ago as an introduction to rifle. Many of the athletes on the rifle team attended at least one of the camps leading to a very successful final standing at the 2014 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). Once the rifle team was selected, athletes had a successful showing at the BC Provincial Small Bore Championship in Campbell River and attended three training camps in preparation for their participation at NAIG.
Team BC’s swim team took lead at the Kinsmen Sportsplex in Moose Jaw, claiming 27 medals—15 gold, eight silver and four bronze. They have one more day of events on Thursday.
Another great day on the track for Team BC! Marquesis Haintz started the medal count winning gold in the U14 girls’ 1200m. Marlyn Morven won gold in U19 girls’ long jump and followed that with a bronze in the U19 girls’ 400m race. Rylee Mitchell won silver in U16 boys’ 300m, his second medal of the games, and the U19 boys’ relay team took bronze in the 4x100m relay. The relay team included Smiddy Grandison, Ashneel Rai, Justin Stewart, Anchor was Jake Firlotte. Track and field events continue Friday, followed by cross-country competitions on Saturday at the Canada Games Athletic Complex.
In a low-scoring game dominated by goaltending, the U19 lacrosse team managed to score some timely goals to get the win. Suhawna Baker had 2 goals and 1 assist. Brian Flett had 1 goal and 1 assist. The final score of 6-3 move the team onto the fifth and sixth place game on Friday at the Doug Wickenheiser Arena.
The U16 girls’ soccer team ended in a tie with Team Eastern Door and the North (EDN) at 2-2. They were down by one well into the second half, but tied it up with a goal by Alison Seymour followed by Danessa Dandurand’s free kick that put BC up by one. EDN stormed back when their striker scored and the final whistle blew leaving the teams on equal footing. They must win Friday’s game against Saskatchewan to advance to the gold medal game.
The U16 boys’ soccer team won their third game. They started strong and kept the pressure going, putting eight goals in the net, beating Team Manitoba 8-0. Goals were scored by Joel Patsey with a hat trick followed by one each from Zak Larson, Clark Matthews, Fraser Dodd, Richard Hillis and Tyler Matalone.
The pressure continued from the U18 boys’ soccer team winning 6-3 over Manitoba. The game heated up after a penalty kick led to the first goal by Damon Fladmark. Damon scored three more goals on net against Manitoba and teammate Levi Turner scored two. Their next game is Friday afternoon.
The badminton team started their competitions on Monday with athletes from the entire team beating personal bests. Courtney Anderson plays in three categories, moving into the semi-final rounds Friday in U16 female singles and U16 female doubles with teammate Julia Bood. Courtney will also compete alongside Jarin Davison—they enter the semi-final round undefeated in the U16 mixed doubles.
The U19 male softball team won 13-9 over Manitoba—Theoren Potskin & Shelby Tom had three hits each. They went on to take a loss to Nova Scotia 5-7. Their next game is Friday morning against Ontario at Rambler Park. The U19 female softball team is on the road to gold, they are undefeated after winning against Team Nova Scotia 17-0. They play in the semi-final game against Ontario Friday morning.
The U16 male softball team won their game against EDN 21-14; they play again Friday morning against Ontario. The U16 girls lost to Wisconsin, they have two games scheduled for Friday at Douglas Park.
The U19 girls’ volleyball team went undefeated in their round-robin games moving into the playoffs on Friday morning against Team Nunavut. The U16 girls’ won three out of four games moving them into the playoff round Friday afternoon against Alberta.
For complete sport competition schedules and results including score sheets, go to http://naig2014.gems.pro.
About Team BC
The Partners Council is responsible for managing the Team BC Program for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). Through the support and oversight of its Team BC Work Group and Provincial Sport Committees, the Partners Council has established a coordinated Team BC program that includes the development of a comprehensive process to select the dedicated team of 500 Aboriginal athletes, coaches, managers, chaperones and mission staff to represent British Columbia at the 2014 NAIG
About the North American Indigenous Games
The North American Indigenous Games is an international multi-sport event, involving North American Indigenous athletes from 13 provinces and territories Canada and 13 regions in the United States staged intermittently since 1990. The 2014 NAIG will take place in the City of Regina on July 20-27, 2014 and will bring together 6,000 athletes and coaches and more than 3,000 host community volunteers and 200 Cultural and Entertainment performers.
About the Partners Council
The Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council (Partners Council) is a consortium of the First Nations Health Authority, BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres and the Métis Nation BC. The Partners Council has established six regions across BC inclusive of the Northwest, Northeast, Interior, Fraser, Vancouver Coastal, and Vancouver Island. This structure brings together sport, recreation, physical activity and health leaders from within each Region to establish committees, set priorities and create annual plans for advancing sport, recreation and physical activity in their communities.
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Media contact: Felicia Greekas, Team BC Communication Manager 250-732-2044 or fgreekas@bcaafc.com
