Organizers gear up for games

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More than 6,000 people are expected to descend on the Nipawin area this spring to take part in the Saskatchewan First Nation Winter Games from April 9 to 16.

Cumberland House Cree Nation, Shoal Lake Band of the Cree Nation and Red Earth First Nation will host the games, with most of the sporting events taking place in Nipawin, White Fox and Carrot River. The games will see athletes aged nine to 19 compete in broomball, hockey, volleyball and badminton.

The theme for the games is 'Communities and Partnerships' and that theme is demonstrated in every aspect of the event.

"That is a big thing in our First Nations culture, is that we are all family no matter what community we are from and these games are definitely a family affair," said games manager Mel Mercredi. "The games might be focused on the youth, but adults and Elders play such an important role here because we have co-ordinators that represent tribal council admissions staff, and we have our coaches. When you are looking at 1,700 athletes, you are looking at about 170 coaches and about 170 chaperones.

"Another great thing is that we will have both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people working together to host the games. I think that this is positive and the way that it should always be done," he said.

The games were founded in 1974 to provide sporting opportunities to First Nations youth, who were often excluded from mainstream sports. Mercredi hopes that through these games, the athletes will be recognized and have an opportunity to participate in mainstream provincial games like the Western Canada Games and even in the Olympics. He said that the goal of the games is to enhance the athletic potential of the First Nation youth and to provide a forum to promote First Nation harmony and community spirit through sport, culture and recreation. He said that these games are also a provincial showcase for First Nation culture and athletics and a vehicle to increase public support and awareness of Aboriginal people.

"I believe that our games are no different because many different cultures have their own events like the Francophone Games in Quebec and the Dene Arctic Winter Games here in Saskatchewan," he said.

In addition to the sporting events, cultural activities such as bannock making, tea boiling, square dancing, outdoor cooking and youth dances will be held daily throughout the week. There will also be health and wellness presentations, facilitated by speakers who are role models.

"We usually look for provincial role models not just in sport but in different categories as well. We always try to get people like Jordin Tootoo to come down but sometimes it is a difficult process to do that, because of his commitments and so on," Mercredi said.

While at the games, participating athletes will be staying in schools in the communities of Nipawin, White Fox and Carrot River. "The reason we are accommodating them in the schools instead of hotels is because we can provide better security service for them there," Mercredi explained.

Mercredi said planning for the games begins at least a year in advance of the event itself, with a committee of 30 who meet at least twice a month to go over a number of plans. He believes organization is important and said that one of the reasons that Team Saskatchewan was successful at the North American Indigenous Games in Manitoba in 2002 was because of the organization of the teams.

"In these games we have a large number of work co-ordinators, committee members and staff that make plans to make it successful. We are focusing on having a lot of committee members so that they can cover a lot of different areas. I work with them quite a bit, and they organize a lot of things within their communities," he said.

Training for the volunteers began in the New Year and the games office in Nipawin had its grand opening on Jan. 9.

While for now the focus on the winter games will remain on the four core sports, Mercredi wuld like to see other sports introduced, including Aboriginal sports.

"I know eventually there will be more sports and the games will grow," he said.