NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 21, 2014
TEAM BC CANOE KAYAK TAKES WASCANA LAKE BY STORM WITH 14 MEDALS AT 2014 NAIG
BC Soccer goes undefeated, Basketball continues to dominate and Lacrosse finish strong
REGINA, SK – Team BC’s Canoe/Kayak team won 14 medals on the first day of competition! From the start of the Canoe/Kayak competitions today at 8:30 a.m. until the evening, the team was strong and had many firsts. “I have never been in a kayak before today,” said Wayne Daniels (Cowichan Tribes), a double medalist winning gold, Team BC’s first medal at the 2014 NAIG and later winning silver in U19 male MC1 3000m. The momentum continued throughout the day as medal after medal poured in.
Alicia George-Bailey (Aitchelitz First Nation) won Team BC’s first bronze medal in the U19 female MC1 3000m competition. “The only time to rest is on the beach,” she said. “Give it all you’ve got, 110% the whole race.” Alicia finished her competitions for the day as a triple medalist, winning another bronze and silver. Makyala Sam (Seabird Island) and Brandyn Chappell (Aitchelitz First Nation) won Team BC’s second gold medal in the mixed doubles U16 3000m race.
The medal count continued to rise until late in the evening. Medalists include Clinton Hugh, two silver; Kyle Mack and Phoenix Paul, silver; and Ricki Greene, Phoenix Paul, Jari Tate, Tristen Tate, and Julian Bob with bronze medals.
Team BC action continued at various venues around the city.
Soccer started today with the U16 girls playing Northwest Territories defeating them 9-0. When asked what led to such a staggering victory, Jade Victor one of the U16 girls’ soccer captains said, “Control of our passing and communication.” Jaime Holmes, second captain of the team added the team has a great bond. They both explained that bonding was an important part of Coach Ernie Victor’s pre-NAIG preparation including a total of 36 practices before coming to Regina. Even with a red card against goalie Kayla Bradshaw at the beginning of the second half, leaving them one player short, they managed to keep their composure for the win.
Team BC soccer continued to play strong throughout the day. The U18 female team won 8-0 against Manitoba and U16 male soccer team held their early lead to beat Ontario 1-0.
Team BC’s basketball teams continue to dominate. The courts were heated up the entire day. The U14 girls played an unbelievable game full of emotion and energy. The crowd was going wild for the last minutes of the game when Wisconsin was down seven and starting pressing with full court defense. They eventually took a one point lead but with 20 seconds left, BC had the final possession to win the game. Jada Dennis was the hero as she grabbed a rebound and put back a lay-up with two seconds left on the clock to secure the win.
The U14 girls now move on to the gold medal game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Miller High School.
The U19 boys played Nunavut at the University of Regina. The boys came out firing on all cylinders and built a 61-18 halftime lead. They didn’t look back and finished the game strong getting every player in the game and having each player register at least one bucket. The leaders offensively were Corey Hauck (18 point, five rebounds), Joel Richardson (21 points, seven rebounds and Jesse Vissia (10 points, six assists, six rebounds). The final score was 100-39 for BC.
The U19 girls’ basketball team played their first competition against Manitoba. The girls had to fight back from a 16 point deficit in the second half. They clawed their way back with defensive intensity and had a couple of big threes in the fourth quarter by Kaitlyn Lafontaine and Jaylene Soegard. The game was tied in the final minute when Nicola Terbasket hit a free throw to put the girls up for good. Team BC won with a final score of 71-70.
The U16 girls played Team Eastern Door and the North with a final score of 75-16. Defensive energy and effort got the girls out to a quick start ending the first half with a 30-3 lead. Tamika Tallio had 13 points with Billie Leeson and Reiley Terbasket contributing 10 points each. Everyone got on the scoreboard.
The U16 boys’ basketball team beat New York 74-54 and the U14 boys took a loss against Team Manitoba 54-57.
Lacrosse competitions began today and Team BC’s U16 boys played three games. They took a tough loss to New York in their first game with a final score of 2-10. They won their second game defeating Alberta 14-1 to head into the semi-finals at the Al Ritchie Arena against Ontario. Fatigued after back-to-back games, Team BC were defeated by Ontario 5 to 8. The U16 boys play for a bronze medal on Tuesday, July 22 at 8 a.m.
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
