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Official name unveiled for the 2024 BC Winter Games

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In recognition of the partnership between the community of Quesnel and Lhtako Dene Nation, the BC Games Society has announced that the 2024 BC Winter Games will officially be named the Lhtako Quesnel 2024 BC Winter Games.

The announcement marks the first time in the history of the BC Games that a city and First Nations community have been featured together in the official name of the event. Driven by local dialogue, the initiative is part of Quesnel’s ongoing commitment to recognizing Lhtako Dene’s traditional territory, ways of life, and continued cultural presence in the region.

The Lhtako Dene Nation is part of the Dakelh (or Southern Dakelh) Nation in the Athapaskan language group. The multi-sport Games, which will bring thousands of B.C.’s top young athletes, coaches, and officials to the region, represent a unique opportunity to immerse participants from all over the province to the culture and history of the Lhtako Dene people.

The Lhtako Dene Nation and the City of Quesnel are partnering with the Cariboo Regional District and Quesnel School District to bring the Lhtako Quesnel 2024 BC Winter Games to life. To learn more about the Games, visit bcgames.org/.
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Chief and Council, Lhtako Dene Nation
“These Games are about more than just a sporting event. They will present an opportunity to gather and share our traditional ways of life that have been practiced for thousands of years and will continue to carry on. Lhtako Dene Nation is excited to welcome participants and spectators to our unceded territory and look forward to creating memories, building community and sharing knowledge that will last a lifetime.”

Mayor Paull, City of Quesnel
“The City of Quesnel is proud to be a part of the Lhtako Quesnel 2024 BC Winter Games and we are very pleased to be hosting these Games in a true partnership with the Lhtako Dene Nation. This first joint naming and hosting of the BC Winter Games is both an historic first and it will serve to deepen the relationship between the City of Quesnel and the Lhtako Dene Nation.”

Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
“The BC Winter Games are a shining example of the power of sport in our communities. Reconciliation is at the heart everything we do, and it is a key focus in our strategic framework, the Pathways to Sport. The Province is particularly excited about this initiative because it highlights how partnerships with First Nations can be advanced to benefit everyone. Congratulations to the Lhtako Dene Nation and the community of Quesnel. We look forward to these memorable Games in 2024”.

Alison Noble, BC Games Society President and CEO
“This initiative was driven by the local community in the spirit of reconciliation and in recognition of the true joint partnership between the Lhtako Dene Nation and local partners to put on this event. The naming of the Games is only the beginning and we’re excited to see this partnership grow.”

Media Contact
David Conlin
Communications Manager
BC Games Society
250.356.5254
davidc@bcgames.org

Camosun College Students Create New Torch

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Through a partnership between BC Games Society and Camosun Innovates, design of the new torch began as a student-led initiative that was the basis of a capstone project for four students from the Mechanical Engineering Diploma program at Camosun. Once the concept was approved, the applied research arm of the college stepped in so Lacey Reay, one of the students involved, could take the torch from idea to full implementation.

“The goal was to make it a more robust flame and something that was going to be safe, reliable and durable that maintained burning for the length of time needed for real-world use,” explains Reay. “The capstone design ticked those boxes and my job at Camosun Innovates has been to make it more refined, and to enhance the overall mechanics behind the design to improve the refueling mechanism and to make it as user friendly as possible.”

Camosun Innovates, the applied research department of the college, provided Reay with the resources to design, test and build the torch. With a clean fuel source that produces a consistent low-emission flame and the addition of a protective shut off valve, the new design prioritizes safety and usability.

“The torch gives me great hope and will shine brightly on upcoming athletes and champions for many years to come,” says Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “The team-based, creative collaboration between Indigenous artists, organizers and students will celebrate athletes, communities and the spirit of the BC Games.”

“Relevant, innovative and applied learning that ignites passion is a hallmark of a Camosun education,” says Lane Trotter, President of Camosun. “The torch for the BC Games Society is a great example of how Camosun can bring access to new technologies and techniques from the college to local organizations.”

The look and feel of the new torch is striking and based on elements designed by Indigenous artist Jamin Zuroski from the Namgis First Nation. The design includes bands of cedar woven into the carbon fibre shell.

“We are very excited about this new torch and what it represents,” says Alison Noble, President and CEO of the BC Games Society. “The partnership with Camosun Innovates has created a torch that has brought the sport, academic and Indigenous communities together for a common purpose.”

The torch will be used at all Games including the BC Summer Games in Prince George, July 21 to 24, 2022 and the BC Winter Games in Greater Vernon, March 23-26, 2023.

Click here to see the original press release on the Camosun College website.

Winter Edition of Coach Mentorship Program Wraps Up

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Coaching in any form requires relationship building, knowledge transfer, and passion, all of which can be difficult to foster over any single season, never mind over a pandemic plagued one punctuated by the postponement of the Greater Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games. However, the BC Games Coach Mentorship program found a means to “reimagine” its delivery and achieve the all-important coach development connection.

A partnership between the BC Games Society, viaSport, and the Canadian Sport Institute – Pacific (CSI-Pacific), the BC Games Coach Mentorship Program provides Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) with the opportunity to benefit from a targeted coach development structure, centred around the BC Winter or BC Summer Games. Lead by viaSport’s Emily Vickery and Master Mentor Coach Kurt Innes, of CSI-Pacific, the program aims to build coaching capacity across the BC sport system, leveraging the unique coaching experience of a multi-sport games. The coming together of coaches from various sports, representing their zone team, rather than their club, along with the added responsibility of team supervision give coaches the experiences to move along the pathway to higher levels, like the Canada Games. The program is structured around the needs of each sport and is intended to leave behind a coach mentorship model for future coaches to benefit from.

Eight Coach Mentors from across seven PSOs took part in this year’s BC Winter Games edition of the program, which involved a myriad of rollout components including PSO driven applications, welcome webinar, NCCP Mentorship Education module, and a series of one-on-one goal setting sessions. In lieu of the postponed 2022 BC Winter Games, participants gathered for a virtual coaching forum, facilitating valuable knowledge sharing, particularly pertaining to how coaches maintained athlete development and progression despite the challenges brought on by a sport season unlike any other.

“I was excited to work with this amazing group of coaches and see their confidence and competence as senior coaches grow. They are now exposed to a coach mentorship model that can be applied to a variety of coaches in various sports” said Kurt Innes, Master Mentor Coach.

This year’s BC Winter Games Coach Mentorship Program benefited from the participation of some outstanding coaches, such as Biathlon BC’s Chris Halldorson. To learn more about Chris’s coaching background and his experience with the BC Games Coach Mentorship Program, CLICK HERE.

The BC Games Coach Mentorship program will continue for the Prince George 2022 BC Summer Games

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We respectfully acknowledge the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) People, also known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, and recognize that our work in this province spans the territories of more than 200 First Nations, as well as Métis and Inuit communities.

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