It’s less than a month until the B.C. Summer Games officially kick off in Cowichan, and Abbotsford will be well-represented at the event.
Games officials released the participant lists for all the competitions last week, and Abbotsford athletes will join those from Chilliwack, Langley, Maple Ridge, Mission, Pitt Meadows, Hope and Agassiz on the Fraser Valley (Zone 3) team.
Locals will have the biggest representation in volleyball at the Games, with 10 athletes and one coach making the trip.
Tyson Adell, Hunter Arulpragasam, Thomas Frew, Levi Kropp, Jonathan Letkemann, Kai Mason and head coach Derek Shuel are all a part of the Fraser Valley boys team, while locals Lauren Bowman, Carly Dyck, Lesina Lapa and Alicia Mathieson all suit up for the girls team.
Jackson Klaassen and Ethan Loewen will also compete in beach volleyball at the Games.
The girls rugby team also has a huge local flavour, with eight girls and the head coach hailing from Abbotsford. Kieonna Berg, Robyn Ellis, Makenna Gayger, Emily Meier, Lauren Paller, Kira Peary, Abigail Schulz, Mikayla Sweeting, Sammi Thiessen and head coach Lucas DeBeer are all on the squad.
Athletics, which consists of track and field events, will see Rachel Atsma, Jacinda Fleming, Alyssa Hutchison, Joyce Ko, William Neufeld, Eileen Noordam, Anya Peters and Vanessa Pirani compete. Abbotsford-based officials Dawn Driver, Debbie Foote and Janice Loewen are also all making the trip.
Maggy Curtis and Caleigh Reimer both head to Cowichan as part of the girls three-on-three basketball team, while Gabriella Marazzi, Makenna Reimer and Sienna Seaton compete in the five-on-five girls tournament. Reid Loewen, Dylan Mitchell, Armaan Sandhu and head coach Shawn Coupland are all slated to play in the five-on-five boys basketball tournament.
Baseball will have a strong Abbotsford connection, with locals Micah Bucknam, Mathew Dagg, Aidan Koetsier, Jack Neill, Treyson Smith, Jack Taylor, Maguire Wakelyn and head coach Tim Blake on the Fraser Valley team.
Wrestlers Jagvir Grewal, Anmoljit Lidder, Jubraj Lidder, Humraj Sandhar, Mikaela Trolland and Charisma Trolland are all set to hit the mat. Abbotsford is also sending head coach Gurjot Kooner, assistant coach Lauren Koerber and officials Braden Conrod, Grigore Gutsu and Jim Mitchell.
Six soccer players head to Cowichan from Abbotsford, with Trystan Castro, Jordi Jura-Burke, Braden Smith and Ishaan Sran on the boys team and Prabpiya Dhaliwal and Samantha Price on the girls.
Other athletes heading to the Games include: Emily Besse and Hailey Besse (equestrian); Isaac Janzen, Hayden Lazeo and Jun Nam (golf); Blake Bosak, Tristan Ellison, Max Hunt and Josh Wakelin (box lacrosse); Zachary Goulet (field lacrosse); Avery Barker, Tiahna Cole, Caitlyn Klassen and Kirsten Ostrom (softball) and Jenna Charest and Brooklyn Gerber (swimming).
Coaches Luke Bogdan (golf) and Allan McLucas (box lacrosse) are also making the trip.
The Games run from July 19 to 22 in and around Cowichan. For more on the event, visit bcgames.org.