The 2018 B.C. Summer Games are set to take place in Cowichan this week.
The games, which run from July 19-22, will feature more than 2,300 athletes from across the province competing in 18 different sports.
Athletes with a disability will also compete in events like athletics, canoe/kayak, equestrian and swimming.
The Games will offer new opportunities for Indigenous athletes to compete in canoe/kayak, basketball, and box lacrosse thanks to a partnership with the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council.
More than 2,500 volunteers will welcome the athletes, coaches and officials.
“The Cowichan Valley is known for its warm hospitality and culture including an energetic sport community that is prepared and ready to welcome the province,” BC Games Society President and CEO Kelly Mann said.
READ MORE: FULL COVERAGE: B.C. Games
“The athletes, coaches, and officials will have the opportunity to compete at high quality sport facilities throughout the valley and experience all that these multi-sport Games have to offer as they pursue their dreams of future national and international level competitions.”
For many of the young athletes in Cowichan, the Games will be their first experience competing at a multi-sport event.
Thirty-five B.C. Games alumni competed for Canada at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro including Georgia Simmerling (cycling), Kirsten Sweetland (triathlon), Jamie Broder (beach volleyball), Evan Dunfee (race walk), and Byron Green (wheelchair rugby).
Global BC’s Shanel Pratap and Paul Haysom will be in Cowichan for the Games with stories on the athletes and events.