Table tennis will make its Winter Games debut in Saskatchewan

The Onion Lake Cree Nation will once again be laying out the welcome mat for a prestigious provincial multi-sport competition.

It will host the Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games, which begins on March 27 and continue until April 1.

But since the Games continue to grow – more than 3,000 athletes will be participating this year – the majority of the events will be staged in Lloydminster, the city which has the unique distinction of being in two provinces.

About 60 per cent of the sports will be contested in the Alberta part of Lloydminster. And the remaining 40 per cent will be in the Saskatchewan part of the city.

Lloydminster is located about 50 kilometres south (a half-hour drive) from the Onion Lake Cree Nation.

This isn’t the first time the First Nation, which has about 4,500 band members, has hosted the provincial games, first held in 1974. The Games are held annually but they rotate between Winter and Summer versions each year.

Onion Lake previously held the Winter Games in 1996. And it also played host to the summer version of the event in 2009.

“It’s way, way bigger now,” said Games’ manager Reinetta Morningchild. “The last time the Winter Games were here we were able to have them in the community. Now we have to go out to the city.”

Only the Midget (16-18) portions of hockey’s preliminary round matches will be staged on the First Nation. And then all of the hockey finals, for all age groupings, will also be at the local arena, dubbed the Onion Lake Memorial Communiplex.

The Games’ opening and closing ceremonies will also be held on the Onion Lake First Nation.

Besides hockey, athletes, aged 10-18, will be vying for medals in various age categories in the following sports at this year’s Games: badminton, basketball, broomball, curling and volleyball.

And table tennis will make its Games debut as a demonstration sport.
“The (table tennis) winners will still be recognized and they will get medals,” Morningchild said. “But the points they accumulate will not go towards the over-all team points.”

As in previous years, athletes will be representing the 13 tribal councils that send teams to the event. Besides the host Onion Lake Cree Nation, they are the Agency Chiefs Tribal Council, Team Woodland, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, Yorkton Tribal Council, Touchwood Agency Tribal Council, Prince Albert Grand Council, Southeast Treaty 4 Tribal Council, Battlefords Tribal Council and Team Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation.

When coaches, chaperones and team volunteers are added to the mix, about 4,500 people will be taking part.

Morningchild said the importance of this event is evident right from the opening ceremonies, where participants demonstrate their happiness at being involved.

“They carry that momentum everywhere they go,” she said. “They’ll wear their tribal gear because they are proud of it.”

Even if they do not know them, team members also become huge supporters of others that are also representing their tribal council at the Games. When their schedules allow them to, Morningchild said competitors will show up to offer support to others taking part in their events.

“It’s not about one person anymore,” she said. “A family is the best way to describe it. They rely on each other.”

Besides hoping to win some hardware at this year’s event, some participants will be hoping to sufficiently impress so that they can represent the province at an even bigger competition.

The next North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) will be held in Toronto in 2017. And Morningchild said some stellar efforts at the Winter Games could potentially catch the attention of those who will be selecting rosters for the NAIG.

The three sports being offered at the Winter Games that will also be included at next year’s NAIG are badminton, basketball and volleyball.
Morningchild said the calibre of athletes at the Winter Games will vary widely.

“They all come from different areas,” she said. “Take hockey for example. Some of them, especially at the Midget division, will bring teams stacked with AAA players. And some of the (younger) teams will have players who are in their first year of skating.”

Many previous Games’ participants have gone on to go bigger and better things.

“There’s quite a few athletes that go on from here,” Morningchild said. “They go on to NAIG. They go to provincial events. And they go to national events. It’s a stepping stone up.”