Port Alberni will be represented well at the BC Winter Games coming later this month in Mission.
Opening ceremonies take place on Feb. 20. Competitions begin on the same day and finish on Feb. 23.
Over 1,800 participants are ready to go for the BC Winter Games, including nine from Port Alberni. They will be represented in badminton, figure skating, and women’s hockey.
Sydney Dolling, Shay – Lee McConnell and Maryna MacDonald have earned the right to play for the U-16 Vancouver Island Women’s hockey team. There were over 55 girls trying out to make this team and the trio, who all play for the Bantam A Bulldogs in the Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association, were selected to the team.
Kennedy Lavertu will be representing Port Alberni, as she will look to have a strong showing in the Figure Skating portion of the competition. Lavertu spent time last summer training in Edmonton and wound up winning a pair of gold medals in competitions towards the end of her summer training.
There will also be five locals heading to the BC Winter Games for the Badminton portion of the games. Declan Lenihan and Carson Rhodes have been named to the boys’ Badminton team and Amy Barker and Kim Norn have been named to the girls’ Badminton team.
Amber Santarelli will also be heading to the games as an alternate for the girls team. It’s the first time that these youngsters will be heading to the Winter Games and will be representing Port Alberni on the big stage. The boys and girls teams are made up of eight players all together, with the other remaining six on each side coming from Nanaimo and Victoria.
This will mark the first time that Mission has ever held the BC Winter Games and will look to the 2,500 volunteers to help make it a successful event.