Young athletes from Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Chemainus, Nanoose Bay and Lantzville were difference-makers at the B.C. Winter Games, earning gold, silver and bronze medals to help the Island team to a podium finish.
The games were held Thursday to Sunday, Feb. 22-25, in Quesnel, and the Vancouver Island-Central Coast Zone 6 team placed third in the medal standings, with 63 medals including 22 gold, 17 silver and 24 bronze.
Some of the best local results came on the judo mats, where Nanaimo’s Sofia Lundman won gold in her 44-kilogram category. Also, gymnast Blake Fudge from Nanaimo was part of the zone’s gold-medal effort in the team competition. Badminton player Cathrina Cong of Nanoose Bay earned a pair of gold medals in the team and mixed skills events, and in archery, Grayson Magee of Chemainus won gold in both aggregate barebow and match play barebow.
The trip to northern B.C. started slow as the charter jet that was supposed to take 140 young people to the event made three passes over the airport, but couldn’t land due to heavy fog and low cloud that hampered flights last week. On the morning of the games, an Air Canada Avro RJ100 was able to get the athletes to Prince George, and from there they bused the rest of the way to Quesnel.
Kevin Lindo, PacificSport Vancouver Island athlete and coach services manager, said the travel delay wasn’t the only disappointment for the team, as certain sporting events such as skiing and snowboarding had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
The B.C. Games partners with provincial sport organizations to decide on age divisions, but generally participants are between the ages of 13 and 18 and are athletes who are considered to have potential to move beyond local or regional competition to higher-level competition.
“This competitive multi-sport experience is an essential part of the sport development pathway for athletes, coaches, and officials in British Columbia,” noted a press release from PacificSport.
Local results from the B.C. Games include:
Archery - Grayson Magee, gold, aggregate barebow, gold, match play barebow.
Badminton - Cathrina Cong, gold, team competition, gold, mixed skills event.
Curling - Nicholas White, silver.
Gymnastics - Blake Fudge, bronze, floor, gold, team competition.
Judo - Masato Takekawa, bronze, 55kg, bronze, mixed team competition; Michael Marck, bronze, 46kg, bronze, mixed team competition; Trinity Fosterson, bronze, 52kg, bronze, mixed team competition; Sofia Lundman, gold, 44kg, bronze, mixed team competition; Samantha Crowther, bronze, mixed team competition; Silas Vieaux, bronze, mixed team competition.
Karate - Jonathan Porcher, silver, intermediate individual kata.
-files from Duck Paterson/For Black Press Media