To celebrate and appreciate your contributions to a successful Surrey 2012 BC Summer Games, we invite all volunteers to attend a special event tonight.

Come share your experiences and be recognized for your generous contribution of time and expertise.

Event Details:

Monday July 23
5:30 pm -8:00 pm
Guildford Recreation Centre
15105 – 105 Avenue Surrey, BC

Surrey, BC – The 2012 Surrey BC Summer Games came to a close Sunday after the final medals were awarded and the athletes were sent home having had an experience many of them will remember as one of the most important in their lives.

Chanell Botsis, 14, of Coquitlam took home more than the three Gold medals she won in Athletics. She was presented with the W.R. Bennett Award for Athletic Excellence at Sunday’s closing ceremony. Botsis set a new BC Games record in Javelin with her throw of 43.06 m, shattering the old record of 41.23m. She also won Gold in Discus and Javelin. The straight “A” student is a member of Richmond’s Kajaks Track and Field Club, and came to her first Games looking for a podium finish, she said, but also looking to perform her personal best. She credited her mom and coaches as the biggest influences on her life and her athletic success.

“These Games saw a number of records fall as BC’s best came together,” said BC Games President and CEO Kelly Mann. “That shows that BC’s investment in sport is paying off. We are seeing an escalation in skills in several sports, and many of the young people who competed here are well on their way to becoming provincial level athletes.”

“I firmly believe that many of the stars produced by these Summer Games in Surrey will one day compete for our country.”

Canadian rowers have a history of being at the top of the podium on the world stage, and if results from the past three days at the Delta-Deas Rowing Club are any indication the future is bright for BC rowers to follow in their footsteps. Zone 6 Vancouver Island-Central Coast dominated on the water, with every one of the 11 athletes on the team earning a medal.

Teams from the host Zone 3 Fraser Valley won several of their final match-ups Sunday. The boys rugby, beach volleyball, box lacrosse and field lacrosse teams all won Gold as did the girls rugby, basketball, soccer and softball teams. The girls of Zone 5 Vancouver-Squamish prevailed over Fraser Valley in two of the most exciting match-ups of the Games. They took the Gold in volleyball and in line hockey.

Individually, there were a number of standouts over the three days of the Games. Swimmer Justin Howe, 14, of Victoria had the largest haul of medals for the boys on his Zone 6 Vancouver Island-Central Coast team, going home with three Golds, three Silvers and one Bronze. His performance bodes well for the upcoming Age Group Nationals he will be attending. Burnaby’s Jemal Reta of Zone 4 Fraser River-Delta set a new BC Games record for the men’s 2000m steeplechase. He also holds the 1500m steeplechase Games record.

Parents came from around the province to support, congratulate and console their children. They stood out in the crowds of spectators as they waved their team’s colours and cheered on the youngsters from the sidelines. Parents’ contributions to an athlete’s success often go unnoticed, but all would agree that having the opportunity to watch their child compete at a BC Games is a reward like no other. Many also expressed their appreciation for the long hours put in by the 3,000 volunteers who helped make the Surrey Games a success.

The BC Games cauldron will be lit again in 2014 in Mission for the BC Winter Games and in Nanaimo for the BC Summer Games.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Lia Threlfall
Communications Manager
BC Games Society
250-812-3887
lia@bcgames.org

by Gurpreet Kambo:

While Fraser Valley One took gold in the Boys Rugby competition in the BC Games, that wasn’t the only thing hometown rugby fans had to celebrate this Sunday.

The girls tournament ended with a strange turn of events. The two Fraser Valley girls teams and players, many of whom know each other, squared off in the final to decide gold and silver. The hard-fought match ended up going towards the Fraser Valley One girls, with a final result of 27-5.\

“I’m ecstatic, I’m so happy. We worked so hard for it, every one of us,”  said Lauren Kerr, captain of Fraser Valley One. “Determination, that’s the main thing. If you don’t have that, you don’t have anything. You have to work your butt off, and we did. We won every game, we were undefeated. We had the girls that wanted it so much.”

According to Fraser Valley 2 captain Alexa Martin, her team may have been perceived as an underdog coming in. “We definitely expected to [make the final] but other teams didn’t… there were expectations for us that were a lot lower than what we got. But we definitely played our game and proved that we can be the best that we can be.”

When asked what the challenges are with coaching two teams playing each other, coach Jodi Cornell said, “It’s awkward… normally when I coach on the side, I’m very loud. I’ll point out where my girls need to attack, where the other teams weak points are. But, when my two teams are playing each other I’m just there to encourage with both sides.”

“Both teams, we talked to them before [the game],” said Cornell. “We said ‘this is the same as any other final. We don’t know who’s gonna win, we don’t know what’s gonna happen. We want you to play like you don’t know the team across from you.”

As for whether any of the girls asked which team she roots for, she said, “I think they’re smarter than that. I just cheer for individual wins. Every kid has fun. I didn’t care which one won, I’m just glad they had fun.”

by Kyle Benning:

Bobby Braich knows that it can be tough to play in the shadow of another team.

Braich is the head coach of the boys Fraser Valley Gold basketball team which was put together as a second team for the region, after the Kootenays (Zone 1) didn’t enter a squad in the competition.

However, Braich and his squad proved that they are no pushovers when it comes down to the wire.

Fraser Valley Gold defeated the first Fraser Valley team, 41-39, in the bronze medal game, with Braich’s team scoring five points in the final 30 seconds.

“It feels great. As a coach, you want to win and we did it the old fashioned way. We didn’t get anything given to us and I’m really happy for these guys,” Braich said.

For most of the game, Braich’s tactics were to play strong defensively, while keeping close to their local rivals on the scoreboard.

“This felt really good because we were the ‘B’ team and all the players knew each other and play on teams together. Everyone on our team thought we were going to lose today,” Braich admitted.

The coach said that the support from the fans for Fraser Valley Gold has been immense.

“We had an Indian drum, guys with signs, loud fans and nervous moms. And, because we were underdogs, I guess they cheered even harder,” Briach said.

Victory has never tasted so sweet for Braich and his squad. “For them it’s a bronze medal, but it feels like gold.”

by Jasleen Kaur:

Vancouver-Squamish (Zone 5) finished tops in baseball at the BC Summer Games, while Fraser Valley (Zone 3) and Fraser River-Delta (Zone 4) won the silver and bronze respectively.

Team coaches gave credit to parents for the success.

“Parents have been awesome, they bought us breakfast in the morning so we can sleep in a little bit longer,” said Vancouver-Squamish coach Brooks McNiven. “That seemed to have worked today.”

“All the parents were awesome,” added coach Wayne Bampton of the silver medal Fraser Valley team. “This was the best cheering session I have ever had.”

“Parents have been very supportive,” noted bronze medal winning coach Ryan Klenman of Fraser River-Delta. “They bought food for the kids and coffee for the coaches.”

Players also sent kudos to the parents.

“My mom got me into the game,” noted catcher Spencer Rankin of Richmond. “She was throwing balls at me when I was three.”

The coaches also made sure to praise their players.

“Every player played a role at getting us the gold and did very well,” said McNiven. “Our pitchers gave us a good start in the game.  Overall we played sound baseball.”

“This was a well earned silver,” said coach Bampton of the Fraser Valley. “The guys worked hard to get to this point. This Fraser Valley team came together and did well. BC Summer Games was a great experience for us, it is my fourth time here and it has been a special experience every time.”

Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains presented medals.

“It’s exciting to stand with our future heroes,” he said. “These are the people who are going to make us feel proud on the field and off the field because what they learn on the field is the true trait of the real person. Looking out for each other, hard work, teamwork and always looking at how to improve yourself, this will help you become a good, productive person in the community and that’s what I have seen out here.”

by Dan Kinvig:

by Gurpreet Kambo:

The rugby games both started and ended with an air of sportsmanship and camaraderie. By the third day of competition, a noticeably more competitive atmosphere had arrived with the medal games looming.

The boys rugby tournament at the BC Summer Games ended with a nail-biter at South Surrey Athletic Park between Vancouver Island (Zone 6) and Fraser Valley (Zone 3). Vancouver Island scored first and took a 5-0 lead. However, Fraser Valley rallied back and ended up winning the game and the gold medal by a 12-5 margin.

Despite defeating them for the gold medal, both teams had nothing but praise for their opponents, who share an ongoing rivalry.
“We’ve been in many tournaments with this team – they’re a fantastic group of boys,” said Michael Smith, captain of Fraser Valley One.

“We’ve played Fraser Valley so many times,” said Brandon Schellenberger, who plays hooker for Vancouver Island. ”We’ve won one against them in Burnaby. In Victoria they beat us in the finals again, so taking silver twice is good.”

“It takes complete dedication and heart to win [gold],” added Smith. “Your team is like your backbone, you cannot work without it. It takes so much heart and a lot of effort.”

by Marisa Babic

The Fraser Valley’s (Zone 3) girls basketball team has won the gold medal at the 2012 BC Summer Games.

Fraser Valley beat Vancouver Island-Central Coast (Zone 6), 44-32, at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre on Sunday, the final day of the Games hosted by Surrey.

Fraser Valley player Shae Sanchez of Port Coquitlam, said the team was hungry for gold.

“We all wanted it a lot,” said Sanchez. “I’m so proud of all these girls because we started out as a regional team and we made it all the way through with each other and I’m really proud, I’m proud to be a part of the team.”

Sanchez, 13, credited the team’s strong coordinated style of play for its success.

“We share the ball and the we know what we do well and we do that. We all work hard. All those practices – we all worked hard at practices and we all played to our strengths,” said Sanchez, a student at Pitt River Middle School.

The fight for bronze was a thriller that went into overtime.

The game between Vancouver-Squamish (Zone 5) and Fraser River-Delta (Zone 4) was close a one for the entire game, often with just a couple of points separating the two teams.

In the dying minutes of the game, Fraser River player Nikko Sahagun of Burnaby tied the game with a successful penalty shot, forcing the game into a three-minute overtime period.

The spectators, who had been cheering wildly throughout the game, fell silent as Sahagun made three attempts at the hoop, scoring on her third try and tying the game 40-40.

But overtime turned into a heartbreaker for Sahagun and her teammates as Vancouver won the game 41-40 to capture the bronze medal.

After the game, Sahagun admitted the pressure on her to score on the penalty shot was intense but she stayed focused “and when I made it I was just so happy.”

The 14-year-old student at St. Thomas More Collegiate also said it was tough to lose the game when her team was so close to victory.

“We worked as hard as we could because we wanted it as much as they did but then we just didn’t get enough of it,” Sahagun said, fighting back tears.

Despite the loss, she said the BC Summer Games were a great experience.

“I’m going to miss my team a lot and I enjoyed playing against everyone.”

by Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen:

They needed a shootout to award the girls soccer gold on Sunday, with Fraser Valley (Zone 3) coming out on top over Vancouver-Squamish (Zone 5).

This was the match that needed to be won by both teams but, of course, there can only be one winner.

With the score 0-0, the crowd grew at Newton Athletic Park as the teams moved into a shootout.

Adding to the drama was a premature celebration by the Fraser Valley squad, which thought they had won following a missed shot by Vancouver-Squamish. The celebration was called back as the referee indicated a re-kick. This time, the shot went in.

But Fraser Valley sealed the win with the next shot, giving the team the win and the goal.

by David Ly:

The baseballing boys of Fraser Valley (Zone 3) all were eager to receive their gold medals after their long journey through this year’s BC Summer Games.

Assistant coach Trevor Thompson is beyond happy that his first BC Summer Games ended so memorably.

“Everyone did an amazing job,” Thompson said.

He could hardly hold in his excitement while speaking as the music prompted the beginning of the medal ceremony.

During the final game, against North West (Zone 7) the team worked hard putting every effort they had into every swing and every catch and, in the end, were rightfully deserving of first place with a 9-1 win.

The boys’ families were ecstatic to have to see their kids’ achievement as the weekend wrapped up.

“It was an awesome day and an awesome weekend,” said Thompson. “Winning gold was definitely the icing on the cake. I’m so proud of them.”