B.C. Winter Games 2018 come to Kamloops: more than 1,200 athletes set to compete

The B.C. Winter Games 2018 is coming to Kamloops 40 years after the city hosted the first winter games.

The event, which runs from Feb. 22 to 25, will welcome 1,229 athletes from every corner of the province. They are competing in 19 different sports. For many, this will be their first experience at a multi-sport games.

Special Olympians will compete in basketball and figure skating and athletes with a disability will compete in cross country skiing and wheelchair basketball.

Along with the athletes, 342 coaches and 197 officials are also attending the games.

“Kamloops hosted the very first B.C. Winter Games, so it is fitting to return to Canada’s Tournament Capital as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations,” said Kelly Mann, president and CEO of the B.C. Games Society in a release. “The athletes, coaches, and officials will benefit from the extensive event hosting experience in Kamloops. These B.C. Winter Games and the coinciding Olympic Winter Games will inspire many of these young athletes towards future national and international level competitions.”

More than 1,600 volunteers are working to ensure the winter games are a first-rate experience for everyone involved, including the opening and closing ceremonies and all the events.

“We are ready! I am immensely proud of the volunteer team that has invested hundreds of hours to ensure that every athlete, coach, official, and parent has an unforgettable experience in Kamloops,” said Niki Remesz, president of the 2018 Kamloops B.C. Winter Games.  “The pinnacle of these Games’ can be credited to 40 years of B.C. Games success provincially and a labour of love, locally, from our team’s passion and expertise in leading. I’m excited that Kamloops will be the beginning of that story for so many young athletes joining us next month.”

The B.C. Winter Games is often a starting point for B.C.’s athletes hoping to make it to higher levels of competition.

Some of the alumni named to Team Canada for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games include Josie Morrison from Kamloops (long track speed skating), Kelowna’s Kelsey Serwa (ski cross), Summerland’s Justin Kripps (bobsled) and Whistler’s Teal Harle (freestyle skiing).

Global BC’s Mark Madryga and Nadia Stewart will be in Kamloops for the games with stories on the athletes and events.