Many young athletes from Quatsino First Nation have had a successful summer. The band celebrated the nine young athletes who participated in both soccer and track events this summer, returning with numerous medals in hand.
A special dinner was held in their honour, and the Quatsino hall was decorated with balloons, ribbons, and gigantic posters of the athletes.
Danielle Dawson and Margaret Badger competed in the 2017 World Indigenous National Games in Edmonton. Dawson and Badger defended their gold medal for soccer, as they also won gold at the previous WIN games.
The WIN Games gather adult Indigenous athletes from around the world, who compete in several sports and cultural activities.
The inaugural World Indigenous Nations Games took place in 2015 in Palmas, Brazil, attracting more than 2,000 participants from 23 countries.
Five of the nine athletes participated in this year’s North American Indigenous Games in Toronto.
Devin White and Seth Hanuse won gold medals for U16 soccer at the NAIG and Trey Morash also won a gold medal with the U19 boys team.
Sisters Kristen and Kayley Clair returned from the NAIG with bronze medals for competing in track events.
Kristen won bronze medals for the 100m, 200m and 4 by 100m relay. Her sister, 14-year-old Kayley, also won a bronze medal for the 4 by 100 metre relay.
Siblings Gabby and Aiden Patterson were among the athletes celebrated, representing their achievements in Trail BC.
10-year-old Gabby won first place in the 100 m hurdle, 60m dash, 100m dash, came in second in the long jump, third in the high jump, and third in a relay race where she competed against 13-year-olds.
Her brother Aiden was selected to play All-star provincial baseball. He was one of 12 boys who made the team out of 30 who tried out.
All of the athletes were presented with a small gift to mark their achievements.
