The North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) take place every three years when teenagers from across the continent get to represent their territory.
This includes soccer for athletes aged 13 to 19 and the Northeast B.C. region of the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (I-SPARC) is giving youth the opportunity to try-out, compete, and possibly earn the right to play in next year’s NAIG.
Camps are being held this weekend in Prince George for both junior and senior teams.
Selected players will be divided into Under-15 and Under-18 categories for girls and boys and will travel to Terrace in late August repping the Northeast Regional team at the 2019 B.C. Indigenous Provincial Soccer Championships.
The winners from each division in that tournament will don the Team B.C. uniform at the NAIG in Halifax in July 2020.
If the team from the Northeast makes it that far, they’ll be pinned against teams from the other 12 provinces and territories, along with 13 regions from the United States, in a competition that ‘celebrates sport excellence, youth, volunteerism, and Indigenous culture.’
Prince George try-outs are scheduled for this Saturday (June 15) and Sunday (June 16) at UNBC’s Northern Sport Centre.
The agenda for interested athletes is as follows for both days:
- 8 to 9 a.m. = Registration for Junior Teams (Under-15s)
- 9 to 11:30 a.m. = Try-Outs for Under-15 boys and girls
- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. = Registration for Senior Teams (Under-18s)
- 12:30 to 3 p.m. = Try-Outs for Under-18 boys and girls
