They’ve only been paddling for three years now, but the young people of Ditidaht Nation are dominating in canoe competition.
Eight of the 15 young people from the nation who attended a selection camp for the North American Indigenous Games have been given the nod for the 36-member Team BC. Four will compete in under 14, three will compete in 16 and under, and one in 19 and under. They’ll head off to Regina for the games, held July 20 to July 27.
The nation held a feast May 7 to celebrate their accomplishment . On the team is Krissy Edgar, 12 (Grade 6), Rachel Johnston, 15 (Grade 9), Kyle Mack, 12 (Grade 6), Jari Tate, 13 (Grade 7), Sebastion Sutherland, 14, (Grade 8), Tristen Tate, 14, (Grade 8), and Chayton Sam, 16 (Grade 10), who also serves as the assistant coach.
The selection camp was held in Enderby April 25 to April 27. Geena Sutherland, mom of Sebastion, and social service manager of Ditidaht, is tasked with coordinating paddling activities. She said the event in Enderby was “fantastic”, with 16 of the best canoe coaches helping to further train the already accomplished Ditidaht paddlers.
“It was transformational,” she said. It was cold, and they were long days, said Geena, but the improvements in the paddlers were noticeable. “Our kids were great before, but they were amazing,” after training with the coaches.
The young people are excited to go to Regina, but right now it’s not yet imaginable, said Geena. The adults are working to prepare the paddlers for what they can expect. Traveling out of province will be a big experience for the youth, some of whom rarely leave the remote village.
Team BC is the team to beat, said some on the Yukon team who came out to Enderby to train. For the Ditidaht youth, paddling seems to be in their blood and in their genes, said Geena.
But the young people of Ditidaht have only three years’ experience. It was during an annual sports day in the community that they were introduced to paddling, Robin Mack told Ha-Shilth-Sa. “I had no idea what we were doing that day… we went down to the lake and that was my first time.” He said he was good that first time in the canoe, but he really didn’t know what he was doing. Now he’s headed to a national competition.
“I feel really, really happy and excited,” Mack said. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I was 11 years old. Now that I’ve made the cut, I’m going to stay dedicated.”
