Sport & Youth

The Four Host First Nations (FHFN) and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) recognize the positive role sport plays in promoting health and wellness in Aboriginal communities and strengthening the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual aspects of Aboriginal life. That is why we are working together with our partners to encourage greater participation in sport - particularly for youth.

Find your passion in sport

Find Your Passion in Sport is a poster campaign celebrating the achievements and dreams of young, talented up-and-coming Aboriginal athletes from across the country. These athletes embody the true spirit of the Winter Games: they are dedicated to their sport, persevere through challenges and compete in a spirit of friendship and fair play.

In partnership with the Government of Canada, the FHFN and VANOC have launched two editions of the poster series - one in 2007 and one in 2009 - featuring:

• Travis Jones, a Métis curler from BC
• Sammy Kent, a First Nations alpine skier from the Yukon
• Leah Sulyma, an Inuit hockey player from Inuvialuit in the Northwest Territories
• Mareck Beaudoin, a Métis biathlete from Quebec
• Chelsie Mitchell, a First Nations competitor in snowboard, from BC
• Aqpik Peter, an Inuit speed skater from Nunavut.

More than 85,000 posters have been distributed across the country, including schools, Aboriginal community, youth groups, and more.

Feature Stories

“I call upon the youth of the world . . .”

It is the siren call of the Olympic Games; at the conclusion of 16 days of intense competition, the president of the International Olympic Committee "calls upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now" for the next edition of the games. We heard Jacques Rogge issue the call in Torino in 2006.

Have skis, will travel – Sammy Kent’s sure feet make the grade

Kent began skiing at age two on a family trip to Whistler. By the time he was six, he had started in the Nancy Greene Ski League on Yukon's Mount Sima. That's where then-head coach Dick Eastmure first got to know him, watching Kent use his exceptional sense of balance, agility and great reflexes to out-ski the competition, taking him further than any skier to come out of the Yukon.

Inuvialuit goalie Leah Sulyma scores on both sides of the border

Inuvialuit (Western-Arctic Inuit) goalie Leah Ceone Sulyma is getting her fill of American history while going to school on a full hockey scholarship at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Big-city life with its unpredictability is a change from Sulyma's quiet, outdoorsy childhood in Inuvik. The 19-year-old loves Boston, but admits, "I do miss the north. I like how secluded it is." Whenever she can, she heads up to Northwest Territories (NWT)...