Carifelle aims to pass sports torch to youth

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Raymond Carifelle has always been sportsminded. In fact it's his first love in life -- after his family and wife Darlene.

Carifelle remembers he was always playing ball down at the park on weekends and sometimes after work when he lived at Grande Prairie.

After working in the northern city six years, Carifelle, a member of Peavine Metis Settlement, returned home. His first chore was to get people involved with baseball, "because we had no team," he said.

Along with two other sportsminded men in the community, Ardie and Donald Cunningham, Carifelle also organized the first hockey teams at Peavine.

Today, Peavine boasts a hockey and a baseball team that does very well in league play against other community teams.

Now the father of four, Carifelle has taken it on his own to become the northern Alberta representative for the North American Indigenous Games scheduled for June 30-July 8 in Edmonton.

"Basically, Raymond is a part of Team Alberta. What he and other reps such as Dennis Pipella are doing is bringing together athletes in Alberta to complete in various events in the games, as Team Alberta," said games general manager Harold Burden.

Carifelle said he became involved when he noticed no one in his area was doing anything to get Native athletes involved in the games.

"I talked with Ray Tootosis and he said he was working to get athletes in Alberta involved with the games. He said three workshops were held but hardly anyone showed up so I volunteered my services," he said.

Carifelle said when the games were first publicized through the media, many people in northern Alberta wanted to get involved.

"But without a representative in the north who could pass on information about the indigenous games and contract athletes, it simply didn't exist. Many people were in the dark," he said.

With Carifelle's involvement, athletes interested in competing in the games are no longer in the dark.

Presently he is busy organizing the regional playdowns for northern Alberta. They will be hold at High Prairie in June and Carifelle is hoping for a large turnout of athletes to compete in events for a possible slot on Team Alberta.

He focuses most of his time on contracting athletes in the north who might miss the opportunity to be part of the indigenous games.

"What if there are good athletes in Peerless Lake or John D or Prairie? There are good athletes in isolated areas in the north and these people must be reaches," Carifelle explained.

Involvement in community events has always been important to Carigelle and his family.

His daughter Pamela, in 1989, took five gold medals home with her after competing in the Canadian Native Friendship Centre track meets in Edmonton.

His wife, Carlene supports many community get-togethers and Carifelle still plays for the Peavine Flames baseball team, although he's thinking of retiring.

"If we win the Challenge Cup this year, that will be it for me. There are some great teams we must beat from Fairview, Paddle Prairie and Grand Prairie, but Peavine plays to win," he laughed.

His work towards organizing athletes in the north for the indigenous games is one step closer to what Carifelle wants to see happen-- youth involved in sports instead of drugs.

"If one kid receives a gold medal, just one, then other kids will want to do it. Sports is a great way to keep children involved, to keep them away from drugs and alcohol.

"Wouldn't it be nice to see some of these kids, who attend the indigenous games, continue on and compete in the Olympics in 1992?"