Windspeaker Sports Briefs - October 2013

Conference to focus on physical activity

Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. will be the site of the second annual National Aboriginal Physical Activity Conference this winter. The event, which will run from Feb. 19 to Feb. 22, is staged to promote physical activity in Aboriginal communities across the countries.

The Aboriginal Physical Activity and Cultural Circle will host the event, which will provide networking and education opportunities. There will also be a tradeshow at the conference where Aboriginal organizations and businesses can promote their services and products.

The event is billed as Canada’s largest conference on physical activity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people. It is geared to those who have an interest in sports, recreation, fitness and traditional activities. This list includes band council members, health officials, social workers, coaches, fitness instructors, as well as municipal, provincial or federal health employees.
The inaugural conference was staged this past winter in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia.

Aboriginal hockey tournament

Organizers are hoping one of the country’s largest Aboriginal minor hockey tournaments continues to grow. Entries are being accepted for the ninth annual Indigenous Minor Hockey Tournament, which will be held next spring in Winnipeg. The tournament, which runs April 11 to April 13, is organized by the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council (MASRC). The 2013 event featured a tournament high of 63 teams. The majority of the participating clubs (41) were from Manitoba. There were also entrants from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nunavut.

The tournament is viewed as a huge boost to the Winnipeg economy. It is believed that more than $500,000 is pumped into the local economy as more than 2,000 players and family members and supporters descend upon the city for the tournament.

Proceeds from the event go towards MASRC development programming, as well as Manitoba’s female and male clubs that annually compete at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships. More tournament information is available at the Web site www.masrc.com or by calling (204) 925-5737.

Giants’ tribute jerseys

The Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants honoured First Nations contributions to the sport during their season opener.
For their Sept. 20 match against the Victoria Royals, the Giants donned tribute jerseys honouring the  Alkali Lake Braves, an amateur squad that captured the BC Northern League championship back in 1931.

Members of the Braves were from the Esk’etemc First Nation. The team got its name from the fact many of the squad’s players worked at the Alkali Lake Ranch, a cattle operation, which is known as the Douglas Lake Ranch today. The Giants were only scheduled to wear their Braves’ jerseys for their season opener. The Braves were formed in 1927. Since they were an amateur side with no financial backing, the Braves travelled to their matches by horse-drawn wagons.

Many of the team’s players had started playing hockey at the residential schools they were attending.

2015 Pan American Games will be staged in Toronto

In early September, the Métis Nation of Ontario and officials from the Pan American Games’ organizing committee signed a memorandum of understanding regarding Métis participation in the event. The document outlines how citizens from the Métis Nation of Ontario will be recognized during the games. This includes involvement in torch relays and the Toronto 2015 Arts and Culture Festival. Metis will also be able to take advantage of economic development opportunities and be honoured with appropriate dignitary recognition.

The Métis Nation of Ontario is one of 14 Aboriginal Leadership Partners which had been identified by games’ officials back in January of 2012.

The 2015 Pan American Games will run from July 10 to July 26. They will be followed by the Parapan American Games, scheduled for Aug. 7 to Aug. 14.

Cheechoo in Croatia

Former National Hockey League sniper Jonathan Cheechoo is now toiling for a Croatian team in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Cheechoo, a Cree from Moose Factory, Ont., scored an NHL high 56 goals during the 2005-06 season with the San Jose Sharks. The 33-year-old, however, last played in the NHL during the 2009-10 campaign with the Ottawa Senators. Cheechoo, who appeared in a total of 560 NHL matches, spent the last three years playing for three different clubs in the American Hockey League.

He’s now a member of Zagreb Medvescak. Cheechoo should have no problems fitting in as the majority of the team’s players are from North America. Cheechoo had three points, all goals, during his first half dozen contests with the club.