The official motto of the 2022 sa国际传媒 Summer Games in Prince George, which run Thursday through Sunday, is “Spirit Lives Here.” It could just as easily be the dream starts here.
It did for Cam Levins of Black Creek, who went from the 2004 Abbotsford sa国际传媒 Summer Games to this week shattering his own Canadian marathon record in placing fourth at the world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Island Olympians or Paralympians to get their multi-sport start in the sa国际传媒 Summer and Winter Games include Levins, Emma Entzminger, Micah Zandee-Hart, Jamie Benn, Ryder Hesjedal, Michael Saunders, Hilary Caldwell, Richard Weinberger, Mike Mason, Geoff Kabush, Riley McCormick, Michelle Stilwell, Rick Say, Gary Reed, Clare Rustad and Avalon Wasteneys.
A total of 30 sa国际传媒 Games alumni represented sa国际传媒 this year in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, including gold-medallist hockey player Zandee-Hart of Saanichton, who got her first multi-sport event taste at the 2012 sa国际传媒 Winter Games in Vernon. She went on to become sa国际传媒 flagbearer in the opening ceremony of the 2015 sa国际传媒 Winter Games.
The sa国际传媒 Games are the first part of the development continuum leading to the Western sa国际传媒 Games and sa国际传媒 Games. The goal is to get athletes used to the multi-sport Games experience before the best of them go on to the Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games and Olympics.
Beijing 2022 brought to 70 the number of sa国际传媒 Games alumni in the past three Winter Olympics and Paralympics. There were at total of 35 at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, including rowing gold-medallist Wasteneys of Campbell River and softball bronze-medallist Entzminger of Victoria.
Everyone in Prince George is good enough to dream. That includes the U-13 Island boys’ basketball team. One of the best things about representative sports is that it allows athletes the chance to play alongside athletes who are opponents in club play.
“These are kids who represent multiple communities across the Island, and different basketball clubs who compete against each other, but who are all coming together to represent the Island,” said team manager Gary Lau.
“It is their first experience in a multi-sport setting and it is a great opportunity for these kids to learn about other sports and the greater sporting community.”
And after the pent-up pandemic frustrations of the past two years, the athletes in Prince George are ready to go.
“Our team is comprised of young athletes who are all working hard to re-enter the world of sports after a long layoff due to COVID,” added Lau.
They will be among the 2,303 athletes in 18 sports from 170 communities that have gathered in Prince George.
