Article content material
Two years after the Ontario Summer season Indigenous Video games have been cancelled due to the pandemic, the video games introduced collectively 280 athletes, their households and coaches to Ottawa — Algonquin Territory — for 3 days.
Commercial 2
Article content material
The athletes, all between the ages of 13 and 18, got here from everywhere in the province, with some households coming from distant fly-in communities or touring 18 hours or extra to get to Ottawa.
The video games started on Friday with occasions together with athletics, volleyball, basketball, softball and soccer. The occasion wrapped up on Sunday with a drumming ceremony, medal displays and a feast on the College of Ottawa.
Emma Yerxa, 17, of Fort Francis, and Leta Meekis, 18, of Sioux Lookout, performed on the identical volleyball group representing Treaty 3, which incorporates about 28 communities scattered over greater than 140,000 sq. kilometres north and west of Thunder Bay. Yerxa and Meekis tried out for the group in Kenora.
Meekis has completed her first yr at Trent College, the place she is a follow participant with the volleyball group. Yerxa shall be going to Toronto Metropolitan College (Ryerson) in September. Earlier than the pandemic, highschool groups would typically journey 5 hours to get to a recreation, they mentioned.
Commercial 3
Article content material
“I haven’t performed for 2 years apart from the highschool group,” mentioned Yerxa. “That is my final hurrah.”
The video games are about growing connections and friendships and celebrating Indigenous tradition. However they’re additionally about figuring out high-performance athletes. Coaches have been on the video games to scout athletes for the Ontario contingent on the North American Indigenous Video games, to be held in Halifax subsequent summer time.
The Cooper household from Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island travelled eight hours to get to Ottawa.
“It offers him an opportunity to department out and play with children from throughout,” mentioned Shane Cooper of his sixteen-year-old son, Jordan, who competed in basketball and desires extra alternatives to play the sport at a aggressive degree.
Commercial 4
Article content material
The pandemic has been irritating for a lot of youth who had misplaced a possibility to compete, mentioned Gerry Benoit, a former provincial-level basketball participant from Pikwàkanagàn First Nation close to Pembroke, who was the coach of the gold-medal profitable 16-yer-old boys’ group.
The group held a basketball camp and an exhibition recreation towards Pembroke’s Bishop Smith Catholic Excessive College to bond and sharpen up their abilities earlier than the video games started. The gamers didn’t know one another, however they gelled shortly, mentioned Benoit.
“It’s important to join with them. It’s important to push them out of their component,” mentioned Benoit. “I inform them, ‘It’s not about medals, it’s about one thing you wish to do, about assembly new buddies.”
Rodney Maracle, 15, of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory west of Belleville, gained gold medals in 1,500 metre and 400 metre races in addition to basketball. He had been scheduled to compete in his first video games in 2020 after they have been cancelled.
“I really like sports activities. I dwell for sports activities. Simply being round everyone,” mentioned Maracle.
“We grew to become buddies so quick. Basketball creates a great bond. As quickly as I met them, we have been already tight. It was as if I had identified them for years.”
