In less than one month the best athletes from around province will descend on Kamloops for the 2018 B.C. Winter Games.

The event, which celebrates sport and community, will feature 1,768 of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 best emerging high-performance talents.

Competing in 19 different sports, the 1,229 athletes are on average 14 years old and for most of them, this will be their first experience at a multi-sport games.

These athletes will be supported by 342 coaches and 197 officials.

Special Olympians will compete in basketball and figure skating; while athletes with a disability will compete in wheelchair basketball.

Kelly Mann, President and CEO of the BC Games Society, notes that as Kamloops was the first city to host the BC Winter Games it is fitting the games return to CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Tournament Capital for the 40th anniversary.

B次元官网网址淭he athletes, coaches and officials will benefit from the extensive event hosting experience in Kamloops. These BC Winter Games and the coinciding Olympic Winter Games will inspire many of these young athletes towards future national and international level competitions.B次元官网网址�

Kamloops has been preparing over the last 18 months to host the games, which will see more than 1,600 volunteers work to ensure participants have the best experience.

Niki Remesz, president of the 2018 Kamloops BC Winter Games, says she is immensely proud of the volunteer team that has invested hundreds of hours preparing for the participants to arrive.

B次元官网网址淭he pinnacle of these GamesB次元官网网址� can be credited to 40 years of BC Games success provincially and a labour of love, locally, from our teamB次元官网网址檚 passion and expertise in leading. IB次元官网网址檓 excited that Kamloops will be the beginning of that story for so many young athletes joining us next month,B次元官网网址� she explains.

So far, 14 BC Games alumni have been named to Team Canada for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games including KamloopsB次元官网网址檚 resident Josie (Spence) Morrison who will compete in long-track speed skating. Other BC Games alumni include KelownaB次元官网网址檚 Kelsey Serwa (Ski Cross), SummerlandB次元官网网址檚 Justin Kripps (Bobsleigh), and WhistlerB次元官网网址檚 Teal Harle (Freestyle Skiing).

jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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