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By Sam Laskaris mailto:samlaskaris@rogers.com
Windspeaker Contributor
REGINA
About 3,500 First Nations teens from Saskatchewan will be participating in a multi-sport competition in the provincial capital this August.
The 2017 Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games will be staged Aug. 6 to Aug. 11 in Regina. The File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council will be hosting the Games, which are held every two years. The Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games are staged in the years that the Summer Games are not held.
Games’ manager Elmer Eashappie is thrilled that this year’s competition will be in the provincial capital.
“That’s the good thing about it,” he said. “That’s because a lot of the facilities are in place as they were built as part of the legacy for the 2005 Canada Summer Games which were in Regina.”
Athletes ages 13 to 18 will be competing. They’ll be divided into four age groupings. These divisions are Bantam (those born in 2004 and ’05), Midget (2002-03), Youth (2000-01) and Junior (1999).
The sports they will be competing in include archery, athletics (track and field), beach volleyball, canoeing, cross-country running, golf, soccer and softball.
And for the first time, lacrosse will be included as a showcase (demonstration) sport. If successful, lacrosse will be added as a regular sport for the 2019 Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games.
Despite the Indigenous history of lacrosse, and the fact it is Canada’s official summer sport, Eashappie believes there is a good reason why it wasn’t included in previous Games.
“A person has to remember that lacrosse is a sport that was well known and played in the urban centres (in Saskatchewan), but not so much on the First Nations,” he said.
Eashappie believes First Nations interest in the sport has improved tremendously since the Saskatchewan Rush arrived in the province. The men’s professional team, which is based in Saskatoon, competes in the National Lacrosse League.
The franchise, previously based in Edmonton, relocated to Saskatoon prior to the 2016 season. The Rush captured the championship in the nine-team NLL last year. And the club is currently battling the Georgia Swarm in this year’s best-of-three NLL championship final.
The host Swarm won the series opener 18-14 this past Sunday. The Rush will host Game 2 this Saturday.
“I think the hype (from the Rush) has been transferred to the First Nations reserves where more kids are playing lacrosse now,” Eashappie said.
Athletes from the 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan are eligible to participate in the Games. Though some athletes will only be representing their own First Nation, the majority will be competing on behalf of the 10 tribal councils in the province.
Besides the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, the others are Agency Chiefs Tribal Council, Battlefords Tribal Council, Battleford Agency Tribal Council, Touchwood Agency Tribal Council, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Prince Albert Grand Council, Saskatoon Tribal Council, South East Treaty #4 Tribal Council and Yorkton Tribal Council.
Eashappie said the various councils have been staging tryouts for their teams for the past several weeks.
Since athletes have to earn their spots onto teams instead of simply signing up and being allowed to participate, he believes the level of competition at the Games will be high.
Eashappie believes for some of the athletes these Games will be the pinnacle of their sporting careers.
“Some others are going to go to the next level,” said Eashappie, who also served as the sponsorship manager for the 2014 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), which were held in Regina.
As for this year’s NAIG, they will be staged in Toronto from July 16 to July 23. Though he is not sure of the exact number, Elshappie believes many of those Saskatchewan athletes that will take part in the NAIG will also participate in Regina a couple of weeks later.
“I’m anticipating there will be some records broken,” Eashappie said of the athletes he expects will be in peak form this summer at the NAIG and subsequent Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games.
In Regina, the top 13 finishers in each event will earn points towards their team (tribal council) standings.
Eashappie expects the host File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council to fare well.
“They should be very competitive,” he said. “They’re always competitive in both the Winter and Summer Games.”
The File Hills Qu’Appelle entry placed fifth in the team standings at the 2015 Summer Games, hosted by the Ochapowace First Nation.
The Games were first held in 1974. Only summer Games were held until the winter Games were introduced in 1980.
If you have a story for Sam, contact him at mailto:samlaskaris@rogers.com