Windspeaker Sports Briefs - June 2013

Olympian passes away

One of Canada’s top Aboriginal athletes died in late April. Shirley Firth Larsson, a cross-country skier who competed in four Olympics, died on April 30 in Yellowknife. Firth Larsson, a member of the Gwich’in First Nation, was 59. Firth Larsson and her twin sister Sharon Firth became Olympians when they participated at the 1972 Sapporo Games in Japan. The sisters also competed at the next three Winter Olympics, in 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria, at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics in New York state and finally at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics in the former Yugoslavia.

Bureaucracy hinders lacrosse team

Off-field activities continue to plague the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse program. The most recent setback evolved from an issue back in the summer of 2010. Then the men’s field lacrosse squad, which was considered a medal contender for the world championships in Manchester, England, did not participate in the event. That’s because members of the Iroquois Nationals, comprised of players from Canada and the United States, wanted to travel to England on their Haudensosaunee passports.

British officials would not allow team members to enter England because the country did not recognize the Haudensosaunee passports. Members of the Iroquois Nationals spent almost a week in New York City waiting for their travel situation to be sorted out. When it was not, the team was forced to withdraw from the world tournament.

Fast forward to earlier this year when members of the Iroquois Nationals’ program received some disappointing news from officials with the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). Since they did not compete at the 2010 world tournament, they will not be allowed to participate in the highest-calibre division at the next world field championships, set for 2014 in Denver, Colorado.
The Iroquois Nationals’ brass is hoping to get this decision reversed, which would allow its team to continue to play against perennial world powers such as Canada, the United States, Australia and England.

To make matters worse, the FIL Board of Directors decided the Iroquois Nationals would be seeded dead last, 30th, for the 2014 tournament. A total of 29 teams took part in the 2010 world championships. Based on these rankings, the Iroquois Nationals would be forced to compete at the next global tourney against countries such as Mexico, Argentina, France, Denmark and South Korea, nations not exactly noted for their lacrosse prowess.

Also, it is unlikely any of these countries would be able to provide any sort of legitimate challenge to an Iroquois Nationals’ squad, which would be stocked with pro players.

To support their claim of being restored to the highest-calibre division, the Iroquois Nationals’ officials point to two recent FIL world championships. The Iroquois Nationals were in the top groupings at the 2011 world indoor championships in the Czech Republic and last year’s world men’s under-19 field championships in Finland. The Iroquois Nationals won silver and bronze medals at those two tournaments, respectively.

Hall of famers

Former National Hockey League forward Everett Sanipass is among the 2013 inductees into the New Brunswick Aboriginal Sport Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees were announced on May 13. Sanipass, who is from the Elsipogtog First Nation, was selected in the first round (14th over-all) by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks were rather impressed with the numbers Sanipass put up during his sophomore season, 1985-86, with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Verdun Junior Canadiens. Despite being assessed a whopping 320 penalty minutes, Sanipass still managed to earn 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 67 games that season.

Sanipass went on to play a total of 169 NHL contests. Besides Chicago, he also ended up playing 39 games in the league with the Quebec Nordiques. He finished with 61 NHL career points, including 27 goals.

During his pro career Sanipass also suited up for the American Hockey League’s Halifax Citadels as well as two International Hockey League franchises, the Indianapolis Ice and the Saginaw Hawks. Sanipass was the only individual inducted into the hall this year via the athlete category. Two others, Jason Peters and Gordon LaBillois, entered the hall through the coach category. Peters served as a basketball coach for the New Brunswick entry at the Canada Summer Games while LaBillois was honored for his coaching efforts with the Eel River Bar Lady Falcons hockey team. Meanwhile, a pair of teams were also inducted. They were the Lady Falcons as well as the Eel Ground Eagles’ fastball organization, for its efforts spanning a pair of decades, from 1970 through 1990.