When Island athletes such as Cam Levins and Avalon Wasteneys line up on their respective marathon and rowing start lines this summer in the Paris Olympics, they can thank their first multi-sport Games start lines for helping them get there. Those occurred in the B.C. Games, the latest version of which runs today through Sunday with 3,120 athletes, coaches, and officials from 177 communities gathered for the 2024 Summer Games in Maple Ridge.
Olympians or Paralympians from the Island to get their multi-sport start in the B.C. Summer or Winter Games include heavy hitters like Levins, Wasteneys, Jamie Benn, Micah Zandee-Hart, Ryder Hesjedal, Gillian Carleton, Gary Reed, Emma Entzminger, Michael Saunders, Hilary Caldwell, Richard Weinberger, Geoff Kabush, Riley McCormick, Clare Rustad, Michelle Stilwell, Mike Mason, Rick Say, Kirsten Sweetland, Fred Winters, Martin Reader and Jamie Broder.
There were 120 B.C. Games alumni representing Canada in the last three Summer Olympics and Paralympics at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and 61 B.C. Games alumni in the past three Winter Olympics and Paralympics at Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, including medallists Wasteneys, Carleton, Entzminger, Weinberger, Caldwell, Stilwell, Benn and Zandee-Hart.
The B.C. Games are the first step in the development cycle leading to the Canada Games, Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games and Olympics. Only a few will get that far, of course, but that’s still something to look up to for young aspiring athletes such as 14-year-olds Rosie Haynes and Myles Jones and 13-year-old Ryder Stubbs from the Peninsula Track and Field Club competing as some of the youngest performers in Maple Ridge this week.
“The dedication of these three is really remarkable,” Peninsula Track and Field Club head coach Aaron Holmgren said in a statement.
“They are all-around great examples of athletes. They are hard-working, humble, and have incredible attitudes. They have embraced the track culture of striving for your own personal best and respecting your competitors.”
The 2,430 athletes in Maple Ridge will compete in 22 sports and are backed by 482 coaches and 213 officials, referees and judges.
According to organizers, more than 380,000 participants and volunteers have taken part in the B.C. Winter and Summer Games since their founding in 1978.
The Games began as a participation/leisure event in its formative years have has shifted into a high-performance model under the leaderships since 1987 of CEOs Roger Skillings, Kelly Mann and currently Alison Noble. The Island is Zone 6 and among eight zones represented in the B.C. Games.
