Every week I’m amazed by the incredible young athletic talent here on the Sunshine Coast.
So far 2014 has been a huge year for athletic achievement — and we are less than three months into this calendar year.
At the high school level, the Elphinstone senior boys won the North Shore league banner, finished as the top seed in the North Shore playoffs and finished in fifth place at the AA provincial boys basketball championships in Langley two weeks ago. It was the highest finish ever for a Sunshine Coast basketball team at the provincial level, and this team was the first in some 20 years from Elphinstone to qualify for the provincials.
Elphi was also shining bright at the provincial wrestling championships in Prince George, where four athletes competed, with one bringing back a silver medal and three others being among the top finishers in their respective weight classes.
At Chatelech, the ski and snowboard team, despite not having a ski mountain in this community, continues to amaze me with yet another trip to the provincials. In the years that I have been covering this team, which is four or five now, every year they have sent competitors to the provincials, which is a testament to Jamie Mani who started the program and now Kirsten Deasey who has assumed the teacher/sponsor reins.
Not to be outdone was a talented group of young women further up the Coast in Pender Harbour who qualified for the single A girls provincials in Lumby. They only won one game and finished 15th among the 16-team field, but in a school that has only 97 students this year, just getting to the provincials is nothing short of remarkable. The Pender girls went up against schools with multiple more students and played very well, losing a couple of very close games.
The Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey Association is just putting the finishing touches on its best year in association history.
The Bantam Rep Blues are assured of at least a fourth place finish at the provincial championships in West Kelowna. The Blues were squaring off against Quesnel in the semifinals as we sent this week’s edition to press.
The Atom Rep Blues picked up three wins last week to win their Final Four playoffs and capture the playoff banner, while the Peewee C1 Blues won the Lions Gate League championship after a shootout win over North Vancouver. The squad posted an incredible 16-2-2 record in league and playoff play.
On the soccer pitch, several rep teams are winning league and cup games with a possible eye towards the provincials.
The Sunshine Coast Boxing Club continues to turn heads as they consistently are among the best in the province as they travel to bouts in the Lower Mainland. And our jui jitsu and karate club members are representing this community with class and grace as several competitors have earned medals in recent top-level competitions.
And what do all these athletes have in common — besides living in this community? They have all sacrificed long hours practising in the gym, on the field and on the mat. They have put in hours cramming homework into their ferry travel, and fundraised to get to these events and compete.
The dedication that is shown by our athletes, our coaches, the unpaid volunteers, their family and friends in this community is astounding.
I congratulate everyone and look forward to more success as the year continues.
