2002 North American Indigenous Games a success

Page 8

From the opening ceremonies of the North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg July 28, to the closing ceremonies on August 4, thousands of athletes, volunteers, and spectators shared in the excitement, exuberance and team spirit that was evident throughout the 11 day sporting event. At any given time of day, hundreds of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit youth could be spotted on Winnipeg streets and at sporting events, visible by the colorful tracksuits they wore which represented their territories, cultures and sport.

More than 6,300 of the best Aboriginal athletes were vying for gold silver or bronze in 16 sporting events. This is the fifth time these games ,recognized as the largest Aboriginal sport competition, have been held.

The sporting events making up this year's games were 3-D archery, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, field lacrosse, golf, rifle shooting, soccer, softball, swimming tae kwon do, volleyball, wrestling, and athletics. There were five competitive age classifications - bantam (13-14 years old), midget (15-16 years old), juvenile (17-18 years old), junior ages (19-21 years old), Senior (22 years old and older), and masters (50 years and older)-for both male and female athletes.

According to Dene Sinclair, communications manager for the games, this year's event was immensely successful.

"It really completely blew my mind. It exceeded everything that I was expecting. These games are so important for the kids, for them to have an opportunity to come together and to share together not only their cultures but also in sport. For a lot of them it is the first time they've competed internationally. It was an honor to have them here at my home in Winnipeg, and to see what a success it was," she said.

"I would like to say congratulations to all the teams. They've worked really hard to get as many medals as they did. So, way to go.

"The weather was awesome. It was wonderful. It is funny but a few days after the games ended it rained. It's been raining off and on ever since. Mother Nature must have put a hold on everything to give us some sun because it was just beautiful. It rained once during the games, but it did not really affect a lot of the sports. It was not too hot; we had a lot of sun. There were no mosquitoes, which was very unusual for Winnipeg. It was great," she said.

"It was really a great time to be in Winnipeg. The teams were amazing. They really took responsibility for their athletes. They really showed that they were really serious about this event. They were taking it really seriously. There was zero tolerance for any misbehavior and for any disrespect of any sort. All the teams really took a stand. They really set an example for the younger kids and that was really, really important," said Sinclair.

While sporting competition was the main focus of NAIG, it wasn't the only thing happening during the games. The Forks, a site located close to downtown, was filled with hundreds of people during the cultural and musical entertainment component of the games, which took place both during the day and in the evenings. A number of locations in the city also featured musicians and comedy acts.

According to Sinclair, the North American Indigenous Games council is currently looking at Buffalo, N.Y. as being the site for the next games in 2005.

"They are doing site visits this September and October. It will be announced in December. For athletes who want to go to the next games, they have to go. If they were in Winnipeg for these games they would understand how important it is and what a great opportunity it is," said Sinclair. The games were seen on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the official host broadcaster.