Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

The biggest sporting event you've never heard of

At the Petro-Can service station in Pemberton a good-looking young guy is gassing up his Chevy Z24. His smile and casual body language convey a sense of overall friendliness.
1309feature_
Mount Currie soccer players will represent B.C. at the North American Indigenous Games in Denver, Colorado in July.

At the Petro-Can service station in Pemberton a good-looking young guy is gassing up his Chevy Z24. His smile and casual body language convey a sense of overall friendliness. The dream catcher hanging from his rearview mirror attests to his First Nations heritage and the bumper sticker speaks to his passion: Soccer is life.

The owner of the car is Alphonse Wallace, and for more than a decade he’s been shepherding Mount Currie’s Soccer Association along.

A little over 10 years ago, Wallace, a former high school athlete, put up a few posters around the community to gauge the interest in youth soccer. That fall about 20 kids showed an interest. Word got out that the soccer program was a lot of fun and by the spring there were close to 200 kids involved. Currently, there are 160 kids from kindergarten to high school age involved in youth soccer, with a separate men’s team catering to those 18 and older. Over the years, many of the town’s youth have proudly played for teams with such diverse monikers as The Rugrats, The Green Rascals, The Wolf Pack and The Big Wolf Pack.

Through participation in soccer, Mount Currie youth have had the opportunity to travel internationally to participate in tournaments. There is little doubt that most kids in this economically depressed community would not have otherwise had the chance to travel to Brazil or Scotland. The fact they have been invited to tournaments in these destinations directly relates to their prowess.

That, of course, brings us back to Alphonse Wallace. Incredibly modest, he’s more likely to point out the contributions that other community members have made to the organization before acknowledging his own contributions. Over the years, he has been a coach, organizer and main cheerleader for the association.

As of Christmas 2004, Wallace was contemplating cutting back substantially on his time commitment to the organization after the Scotland trip. Reminded of this, he just laughs.

Later this spring, a dinner will be held to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Mount Currie Soccer Association. As the celebration is being prepared, there will be 17 kids stepping up their training. Thanks in part to Wallace’s incredible dedication to the sport, 17 of the community’s soccer players aged 12 to 18, will be attending this July’s North American Indigenous Games in Denver, Colorado as members of provincial regional teams. Close to 9,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit athletes and cultural participants are expected to take part in the eight-day event, which will utilize 29 venues around the city, cost approximately $5 million US to produce and is attracting the attention of corporate sponsors such as sporting giant, Nike.

The kids

Visiting Mount Currie’s traditional Xit’olcw School, it’s easy to understand why Wallace can’t cut the connection. It’s the kids. Talking to them, I am struck by just how little the high school archetypes have changed over the years.

There’s the pretty girl who "absolutely hates" having her picture taken.  There are the kids who seem incapable of making eye contact with anyone over 21. There are the brothers who admiringly tease each other. There’s the good-looking, popular guy who doesn’t know how good-looking or popular he is, which makes him even more so. There is the determined girl who seems destined to lead.

My attempts to elicit comments from the entire group are met with either teenage mumbles or silence. Perhaps they’re a little intimidated by their teammates or their peers and parents who are also sitting in the cafeteria watching the Torino Olympics on the big screen.

The one subject that breaks the verbal social awkwardness is Alphonse Wallace. What kind of guy is he?

"Awesome."

"He’s the best."

"He’s a great coach, he really cares."

It quickly becomes evident that while Wallace may downplay his role in their success, the kids think otherwise. They know they are on the road to Denver because people like Wallace – dedicated community members, be they educators, recreation workers, council members or parents – are helping make it possible.

That’s clearly the humility of youth. The bravado comes when they hit the gym floor. The shy kids lose their inhibitions and the playing field is leveled. They are in pursuit of a common goal: playing their best.

Although some of the kids that made the cut at the Seabird Island tryouts earlier this month have been playing for less than two years and others have been playing since they could run, its hard to tell who is the more experienced. The Xit’oclw School gym is teaming with potential champions. Statistically, that means that more than 10 per cent of all of the players registered in the Mount Currie Soccer Association have been chosen to represent B.C. in Colorado. Amazing.

Valeri Peters is one of those players. An attractive young woman with long shiny hair, great skin and an engaging smile, Peters has the quiet, understated demeanor of a natural leader.

At 16, she’s been playing for nearly 10 years.

"I followed my brothers around, my older brothers," she admits.

While fraternal admiration might have taken her onto the field, there’s a far more important reason that she’s stayed.

"I have fun playing soccer."

For some of the Mount Currie kids, the trip to Denver will be the first time they have been outside of their community. For all it will be the first time they have participated in an event at this level. More importantly, it will be the first time they have been in an environment with more than 7,500 other First Nations, Métis and Inuit people all in the pursuit of athletic excellence. When cultural participants and volunteers are thrown into the equation, the number swells to closer to 13,000. By contrast, the population of Mount Currie is estimated at around 1,800.

Interest growing

If you haven’t heard about the North American Indigenous Games, you’re not alone. Like many amateur sports events catering to specific interest groups, such as the Gay Games, NAIG has received very little notice in the mainstream sports media. But this year’s games may change that.

Nike has signed up to sponsor uniforms for the organizers and talks are well underway with a number of other big name U.S. corporations. Kerstin Johnson, head of communications, for the Colorado Games, is clearly excited about the amount of attention they are attracting.

"We are expecting some live coverage of the events this year," says Johnson. "A number of media outlets have expressed interest."

While she can’t name the other corporations that are coming on board, she intimates that they are household names and that things are going well.

Sponsorship is going to be essential for the games. NAIG has not been a recipient of either state or federal funding in the U.S.

"Our biggest contribution has come from the two sponsor tribes. The Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute have contributed more than $1.2 million to the budget," says Johnson.

Much of the other money will come from registration fees generated from within the bands who will be participating. To facilitate tournament play, NAIG has divided North America into 26 distinct regions, 13 each in both the U.S. and Canada. Each athlete will be responsible for pulling together $650 to participate. When spending money is factored in, the cost to attend will be about $1,000 per player. When the overall scope of the games is considered, this cost does not seem exorbitant.

"There will be 29 venues used over the eight days," explains Johnson, "with housing for the athletes at dorms at Denver U and other colleges in the area."

The sports that will be showcased run the gamut from archery to wrestling, with traditional summer games such as baseball, canoeing, golf, lacrosse, swimming and, of course, soccer. In all, athletes will compete in 16 different sports.

"When I think about how big it’s going to be I get a little freaked," laughs Johnson, who was seconded from a state sporting organization.

With minimal paid staff – currently less than 15 – the Colorado Games organizing committee is going to have to depend on volunteers to ensure a smooth and efficient games.

"We’re estimating the need for close to 4,000 volunteers," says Johnson.

She doesn’t foresee volunteer recruitment as being a problem, as community support for the games has been strong.

Despite the games’ grassroots scale of organizing operations, the philosophy and structure has clearly been built with an eye to the future.

According to its mandate: "The NAIG Council is the International governing Body for the NAIG, which exercises exclusive jurisdiction, either directly or through its affiliate members or committees, over all matters pertaining to the North American Indigenous Games. It ensures the purposes and philosophies are reflected in all aspects of the Games. The Council is the principal authority for policy development, rules and regulations for the North American Indigenous Games. In its role, the NAIG Council supervises the overall development and implementation of the Games, including the selection of host communities through a bid process. The NAIG Council enters into a formal Hosting Agreement with the host community, which stipulates the terms under which the Games are awarded.

"The NAIG Council works in a manner that is consistent with the cultural, spiritual and traditional values of the peoples it represents. In their activities they promote and encourage holistic individual development that focuses on the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual growth of participants."

The structure is exactly what you would expect for an event of this magnitude. It is strikingly similar to anyone familiar with the structure of the Olympic movement.

"It’s our Olympics," states Alex Nelson, president of the Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of B.C.

Having played a number of sports, including soccer, when he was a kid, Nelson remembers the federal native sports and recreation program of the ’70s. The five-year program was designed to create more opportunities for First Nations youth in sports. When the funding dried up a significant vacuum was left. In the early ’80s, while attending the University of Victoria for sports administration, Nelson met a couple of like-minded First Nations students. In 1989, the Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of B.C. was formed. A year later Nelson would attend the first ever NAIG in Edmonton.

"I heard about it and decided to go. The event was so informal that I got there and without being on a team I got into a game," Nelson remembers of that premiere event.

From Alberta to the UN

The concept of NAIG was born in an address to the United Nations. In 1987, Willie Littlechild, from Alberta, spoke of his dream at the United Nations in Sweden.

Three years later the first ever NAIG were held in Edmonton, Alberta. The event attracted close to 3,000 sports participants from across Canada and the northwestern U.S.

The following games, held in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan saw the number of participants increase to nearly 4,400. A cultural component was added to the games in Prince Alberta, attracting several hundred dancers and musicians. That year, 1993, also saw the formalization of NAIG as the permanent governing body for the games.

Two years later, another first occurred for the fledgling event. What was a Canadian event travelled south to Blaine, Minnesota. Those games drew the highest number of participants to date – approximately 8,000 competitors made their way to the prairie city.

Victoria, B.C. hosted the 1997 games that featured teams from nine provinces and 17 states. This NAIG featured a close balance of athletics and cultural activities with 5,000 athletes and 3,000 cultural festival participants taking part.

The most recent NAIG were held in 2002, in Winnipeg. Attracting 27 teams to the area, the Winnipeg NAIG drew a similar ratio of athletes and cultural participants.

The outcome of the second games to be hosted in the US, is anyone’s guess, but Johnson is confident that they will be a cultural and economic success.

Members of the Team B.C. contingent, including the president of ASRA, Alex Nelson, will be keeping a close eye on the proceedings in the mile high city. The games will be back in B.C. in 2008, when the Cowichan Games will be hosted on Vancouver Island.

"It’s becoming a real cornerstone in sports in our community," says Nelson.

He is thrilled by the size of Team B.C.; in all, 500 youth will be participating in the games. While the experience will be one of high calibre athletic competition, what they bring back to their communities will be more valuable than any medal.

"Sports are a great way to break down all sorts of barriers, it really helps build self-esteem and self worth."

Since the early days of ASRA, Nelson has seen an increase in the number of opportunities open to First Nations athletes. But will those opportunities extend to the podium for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?

"It’s really hard to measure that. But then again, these kind of events help raise the awareness of the process," says Nelson. "And there’s the snowboard team from the Four Host Nations, so you never know."

Opportunities increasing

Lil’wat Councilor Lucinda Phillips holds, as part of her office, the Nation’s sports portfolio.

"Some of these kids have never left our community and they are going to realize now that First Nations cultures are pretty active everywhere," says Phillips. "They are going to get a look at the whole culture."

Phillips believes that due to a variety of factors, including the fact Whistler is a venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games, that opportunities for indigenous athletes are increasing. She says that there are more and more programs designed to increase access for Native youth, so financial barriers are not what they once were.

"The only barrier I see is from the parents. We have opportunities coming from everywhere. We have our own snowboarding team. We have our kids going to NAIG. We’re starting dragon boating. We have a lot on our plate. The only barrier I see are the parents," says Phillips.

Wallace, who is also a council member, echoes Phillips’s sentiments. Although he lives and breathes soccer, he’s unsure that he’ll be accompanying the team to Denver.

"I’d really like to see the parents go, to share the experience," Wallace says.

Phillips believes that there is a strong connection between tournament competition and tribalism.

"A good example is the annual Seabird Festival (soccer tournament). Every year we bring about 200 to 300 kids from Mount Currie and we compete with other nations."

This is a view she shares with the president of ASRA. Indeed the connection between culture and athletics is reinforced by NAIG’s motto: The Spirit: Strong, Brave and True. Their trademarked catch phrase is A Celebration of Sports and Culture: In the spirit of The Sports Warrior.

"I believe we’re really getting involved in the sports in our community," says Phillips. "Maybe it’s because 2010 is coming along. But I feel the politicians in our community are really coming on board."

Phillips, a longtime proponent of sports and recreation, also believes that the more activities that are introduced to the community the closer the community draws together. While she wishes there was more parental involvement, she recognizes that some have really stepped up to the plate and given a lot.

One of those parents is Trini Joe. His easygoing attitude seems perfectly inline with his career as a school bus driver. He has two daughters who will be representing the region as part of Team B.C., but his interest in helping goes much further than just making sure Randi and Haley get to practice on time.

A committed soccer volunteer, Joe has engaged in tasks that most parents would find daunting: driving 35 teenage boys six hours south to Seabird Island near Chilliwack.

"It was pretty quiet on the way back," Joe laughs, remembering the return trip with almost three dozen played out soccer players.

Kyle Smith is a handsome, self-assured 18 year old. With his flat haircut, sparkling eyes and lean athletic frame, he’s the poster boy for clean-cut sportsmanship. He talks with enthusiasm about his upcoming apprenticeship as a mechanic, but his eyes really light up when talk turns to soccer.

The idea of a tight training schedule that begins next month and doesn’t ease up until they head to Colorado isn’t as daunting for Smith as playing soccer at 5,000 feet.

So how does Smith see overcoming the negative effects of altitude on his game?

"I guess I’ll just have to train everyday," says the centre forward.

His smile says that won’t be too much of a sacrifice.

After all, like the bumper sticker on Wallace’s car says: "Soccer is life."



Comments