FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2017
TEAM BC WINS 31 MEDALS ON FIRST DAY OF SWIM COMPETITION BRINGING TOTAL MEDAL COUNT TO 131
Canoe/Kayak Medal Count Totals 54 and Basketball Teams Win 3 Silver
Toronto, ON – Team BC swimmers win 31 medals on their first day of competitions! 17 out of Team BC’s 23 swimmers medaled with six medals won in each event. “The Swimmers raced to simply live in the moment!” said Head Coach, Leanne Sirup. “The hard work has been done and now they get to do what they enjoy: swimming fast and racing great competitors.” 16U female swimmer, Amy Leighton, won four medals in today’s competition including two gold medals in the 800m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley, two silver medals in the 50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100m Butterfly. William Swyers won two gold medals in the 14U male 200m Individual Medley and 50m Backstroke as well as a silver in the 50m Freestyle. Claire Brown won three gold medals today, two in individual events and one in the relay. Jaydn Johnston was another top performer, winning three gold medals and one silver.
Additional medalists include Emma Jolliffe, Hunter Stewardson, Jaydn Johnston, Kade Schwarz, Carter Basil-Pelly, Warren Barton, Kleanza Cathers, Garnet Currie, Travis Pete, Jesse Shade and Billy Swyers. Swimming competitions continue tomorrow at the Toronto Pan Am Centre.
Mateya Haintz earned her second gold medal of the Games in the discus with a winning throw of 34.05m. Jason Rioux won two gold medals today in high jump and triple jump. Marquesis Haintz won her third medal of the Games with a silver medal finish in the 16U female 2000m. Athletics medals were also won by the 14U female 4 x 100m relay team, the 16U female 4 x 100m relay team, 19U 400m and 19U female 3000m competitions.
Team BC’s Canoe/Kayak athletes finished their last day of competition with an impressive total medal count of 53 over three days! The team earned 21 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 21 bronze medals. There were many standout performers including Gordan George from Tsleil-Waututh Nation who won a gold, silver and bronze medal in kayak events. Official canoe/kayak results are still being tallied and are expected to be posted tomorrow morning.
Alex Webber won gold for Team BC in the 19U male golf category, gapping the field by 18 shots with a total score of 172 over three rounds of competition. Alex upped his game on the last day of competition, shooting 33 in his final round. Team BC Head Golf Coach Frank Antoine is pleased with his golfers’ performance and NAIG experience, saying, “Our athletes grew as people and golfers and we created memories to last a lifetime.”
Three silver medals for Team BC Basketball! Team BC’s 14U females, 14U males and 16U females all faced off in gold medal games. The 14U male team fought relentlessly with the game being decided in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, with Minnesota ultimately coming out on top. The 14U female team played a tough game against Team Wisconsin, losing 31 – 54. The 16U females walked away with a silver medal after a defeat by Team New York in the finals. All three teams received silver medals at this evening’s medal ceremony.
Team BC had a strong day on the soccer pitch as three teams advance to the final rounds. The 19U male team and both 16U male and female soccer teams advance to gold medal matches. The 19U male soccer team won a nail biting game against Team Manitoba 2 – 1 to earn a spot in tomorrow’s finals. Cyler Point scored the winning goal in a penalty shot. The team will play in the finals tomorrow for a medal!
The 16U male soccer team battled for a spot in the finals against Team Alberta winning the game 3 – 0. “I am extremely proud of the way that our team performed today,” said Head Coach Glenn Assu. “It takes a real team effort to get to where they are and they should take pride in their performance.”
The 16U female soccer team won their game 3 – 0 over Team Manitoba, earning a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow. The team started strong and kept the pressure going the entire game with notable goals by Taylor Spong in a penalty and Haley MacDonald who scored the final goal.
Team BC’s badminton athletes advance to the semifinals in both the doubles and mixed doubles division. Jarin Davison and Kyler Wilson beat Team Manitoba and Team Nova Scotia in two straight sets, earning a spot in the gold medal game against Team Saskatchewan at 3:30 pm (EST). Jarin will double back to play with Courtney Anderson in the mixed doubles division. The pair are vying for the gold medal against Team Saskatchewan. All three athletes are aiming to make Team BC Badminton history by winning two gold medals. “Team BC badminton has not earned a gold medal since the 2008 NAIG,” said Jarin. “It would mean so much to win a gold medal for BC.”
All three Volleyball teams came out in full force today with the 19U females winning all three of their games, including a tough face-off with Team Ontario that went to the third set. The 16U female team won two out of their three games, taking their first loss of the tournament to Team Manitoba. The 19U males battled through four games today, but tough pool draws and multiple injuries kept the boys from taking any wins. Tomorrow all three teams head into playoff matches.
Team BC’s 19U male and female lacrosse teams played in the semi-final rounds and head into bronze medal matches tomorrow. The 19U female team battled against Team EDN for a spot in tomorrow’s gold medal game but fell short with a final score of 4 – 11. “The game was well played by both teams. Our girls played their hearts out and left everything on the floor,” said Head Coach Savanna Smith. The team will play for the bronze medal tomorrow at 9:00 am (EST).
The 19U male lacrosse team had a close game against Team Ontario and fought hard the whole game despite injuries and challenges. “We’ve worked hard all year and want to enjoy every moment of our remaining game,” said Head Coach Sam Seward. Although BC lost to Team Ontario, they will play for bronze tomorrow at 12:00 pm (EST).
The 16U female softball team suffered a loss against Team California. “Although we didn’t come out on top, we learned a little bit more about ourselves,” said Head Coach Joni Frei. “I’m confident that this will help us going into tomorrow’s bronze medal game against Wisconsin.”
The U19 female softball team lost 0 – 7 in their game against Team Alberta. The team is still in contention for a medal and will play for a third-place medal tomorrow afternoon.
Team BC’s archery squad faced an extremely challenging final day, with heavy rain and lightning delaying their competitions until the late afternoon. “The weather today presented some real challenges but the kids did well to meet the challenges,” said Head Coach Ron Ostermeier of his team’s performance.
Competition continues tomorrow for nine of Team BC’s 13 sports.
For more information about Team BC’s NAIG program visit http://isparc.ca/performance-sport/team-bc/north-american-indigenous-games/.
For the most recent schedules, results and live broadcasting information, please visit http://naig2017.to.
Correction – July 21, 2017 (4:15PM):
The 19U male soccer team won a nail biting game against Team Manitoba 2 – 1 to earn a spot in tomorrow’s finals. Cyler Point scored the winning goal in a penalty shot.
Team BC’s Athletics Head Coach is Jack Miller.
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Team BC Background
The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council (I·SPARC) is responsible for managing the Team BC Programs for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) and the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC). Through the support and oversight of its Team BC Work Group and Provincial Sport Committees, I·SPARC has established a comprehensive Team BC program that includes provincial development programs and selection processes for athletes and coaches that will compete on behalf of British Columbia in national and international competitions. For the 2017 NAIG, over 500 Indigenous athletes and coaches have been selected to represent British Columbia in the following 13 sports: 3D Archery, Athletics (Track & Field, Cross-Country), Badminton, Basketball, Canoe/Kayak, Golf, Lacrosse (Box), Rifle Shooting, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball, Wrestling.
About the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council
I·SPARC is a consortium of the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, the First Nations Health Authority, and Métis Nation BC. As the stewards of BC’s Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Strategy, I·SPARC works with First Nations, Métis Chartered Communities, Friendship Centres, schools and other sport and physical activity stakeholders to deliver community-based programs designed to promote active lifestyles and support the desire for transformative change in the health and well-being of Indigenous communities, families and individuals across B.C. For more information, please visit: www.isparc.ca.
Media contact:
Justine Johnson
Team BC Communications Manager
jjohnson@isparc.ca
778.899.3234
www.isparc.ca
