The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (I-SPARC) with a collaboration with British Columbia are now accepting nominations for the 2019 Premier’s Award for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport.
The awards provide a unique opportunity to celebrate Indigenous Athletes. The awards are presented both regionally and provincially.
There are a total of six awards across I-SPARC’s regions: Northeast, Northwest, Interior, Fraser, Vancouver Coastal and Vancouver Island.
Felicia Greekas, Manager of Premier’s Awards and Communications said the awards are wonderful because it highlights what the young people overcome.
“There are so many more barriers for our indigenous youth then maybe in the mainstream so it’s celebrating and honouring these young people right across the province from our tiny communities to the urban centers.”
Award recipients for their regional district will be nominees for I-SPARC’s provincial awards. Ten of those athletes will be asked to participate in the formal ceremony at the Gathering Our Voices: Indigenous Youth Leadership Training ceremony in Kamloops in March.
Greekas said some of the winners from these awards have gone on to participate in professional sport.
“It’s been really incredible just to see them continue on, like for some of them it’s towards the end of their youth sport and others just continue to have goals to reach that next level,” she said.
The deadline to submit nominations for the awards is Sept. 19 at 5 P.M.
To be eligible for the awards the athlete must:
- Be a permanent resident of B.C. For the last year.
- Is of Indigenous Ancestry (First Nations, Metis or Inuit)
- Is under the age of 25
- Actively participates in a recognized provincial/regional or traditional sport and shows evidence of high athletic ability and performance results
- Enrolled in school and is actively pursuing or planning to pursue post-secondary education.
(With files from Lindsay Newman with MyBulkeyLakesNow)