A Year in Review: B.C. sport moments 2021

Despite the challenges for sport, so many participants in B.C. had an amazing year. We’ve rounded up some of the amazing entries we received for our Celebrate your Season contest to show you just how much was achieved in 2021. Read on to hear about some great sport moments from across the province and across sport.

This picture represents a drill I have been working on and I have finally come to master it to the best of my ability! I am super proud to share this because it has taken some hard work to figure this one out and I am super happy that I have accomplished it – Molly, Okanagan Ski Team

A special sport moment for myself in 2021 is achieving a Silver National Medal in diving Platform, and being invited to attend the Pan Am Jr Trials I Montreal. I then placed 2nd on the 3m springboard. I have been working hard towards these moments since I was 7 yrs old, and it was truly dream come true to come through covid and be in Montreal with the High Performance athletes. I continue to work and focus towards many more moments like this. – Amelia

After going through several injuries this year, I am happy to be back in the water training. – Linus

​2021 Indoor pickleball restrictions couldn’t stop us from enjoying a game of Pickleball. – Laurel

Returned to my Summer swim club to coach and race this past summer. Brought back great memories of summer swimming fun! – Lucas

In a year that has been physically and mentally challenging for all athletes navigating through the unpredictable landscape of the pandemic, SFA is proud of our swimmers’ resilience and we celebrate not just the best times & the race successes. We celebrate the team camaraderie, the high fives & handshakes, the dedication of our Coaches and the smiles on our swimmers’ faces. It has been an incredible & unforgettable season. – Simon Fraser Aquatics

The North Delta Sunfish managed to run all programs! Swimming, water polo and artistic swimming. We had increased enrolment across the board and managed to host our own meets and reach out to other clubs to increase interest in water polo. We also benefited from the LeadForward grant for our female coaches and the local relief program to help us get back on our feet!

The Nanaimo White Rapids had a very successful 2021 season! Despite COVID restrictions and with a lot of hard work, we were able to run a pretty normal summer season out of our beautiful Bowen Park Kin Pool in Nanaimo. We even hosted, for the first time ever, the Vancouver Island Regional Championships or “Gator Games” at our very own 6 lane outdoor pool. This event was our best sport moment of 2021 because of all the hard work and extra time that our parents, coaches, and swimmers put into the event. The event also doubled as “virtual provincials”. And for the first time ever, the White Rapids placed first overall! It was the perfect end for everyone after such a trying season!

Signing with Capilano University after having senior high school and U18 club season cancelled and thinking my dream of playing post-secondary not attainable. – Faith

The boys on the U18A team adopted a family from the Ministry of Children and Families, and made sure that their family would have a wonderful Christmas this year by sending food vouchers gift cards, clothing and toys. All collected on Friday to celebrate Christmas together. On Sunday they hosted a Teddy bear toss and collected over 6 bags of teddy bears for vulnerable children on the Sunshine Coast. They have seen great success on the ice but the moments like these is what will really help build character and growth! – Lisa

This is my proudest sporting moment of 2021. It was my first in person competition since covid and I almost bombed out in my snatches (meaning I wouldn’t have a total). I came back and hit all 3 clean and jerks ending with a 3kg clean and jerk personal record and 5kg total personal record! – Kayla

 
With a hard-fought season, we took home first place then to top it all off I won MVP for our team. I’m so proud of our team! – Ian, Langley Rugby Club  

​Proud of the Castlegar Skating Club and for all we have accomplished this year! Grateful for being given the change to host our first “in person” return to competitionthe WKI 2021 in Castlegar. My heart is overjoyed for all the skaters and families who were able to participate and for this amazing little cheer squad. – Brooke

PacificSport Vancouver Island is thrilled to share about the completion of the first semester of their inaugural PacificSport VI Coach Academy cohort. Coach Academy is a twelve-month program providing coaches with NCCP courses, applied coaching workshops, and sees all participating coaches partnered with an experienced mentor who provides them with support and feedback. We have 10 participating coaches in our first program and they have all successfully completed the first semester of coursework. These 10 coaches are committed to pursuing quality education that centres around collaboration, connection, and inclusion and we are delighted to continuing to learn together in 2022. 

I’m proud to have been given the opportunity to return to in person competition for the 2021 WKI. I’m proud of my skate and had the most memorable weekend. – Anaya, Castlegar Skating Club
 

 
Special sport moment for my daughter, Gabrielle, when she cleared her Personal Best in pole vault and is now ranked #1 U14 in B.C.! She’s only been in the sport for a year and has big dreams! Thanks to Kamloops Track and Field Club! – Alexandra, sport parent

WRASA is celebrating the opportunity to get back into the water and enjoy a safe and fun season in 2021! Despite the COVID restrictions and limited competition, all the swimmers, coaches, and families had a blast and the WRASA spirit never failed to shine through. We can’t wait for Season 2022 to begin! – White Rock Amateur Swimming Association

In Fall 2021, we launched “AMP” – Adaptive Multi-sport Program – as a collaborative effort from two community sports associations in North Delta (NDFC and NDBA). The City of Delta partnered with us to offer free gym space, and a title sponsor (Advantage Home Team Realty) paid for shirts and helped with some equipment costs. We brought together 30 kids age 4-16 who various disabilities, and 24 youth volunteers who acted as 1-1 buddies, and we played sports.

This program evolved from Challenger Baseball in North Delta, and a need to bring kids together throughout the year to provide sport opportunities but also to build friendships between the kids, between the families, and between community members.

Very proud moment for our first North Vancouver Football club girls! They had a great U13 intake season!
 

One of our long time members David Speight passed away in March 2021. Dave was the head instructor of Port Coquitlam Judo since 1973 and was actively involved at the Provincial level. He was a well loved and respected member of the judo community who positively impacted the lives of hundreds. Dave’s wife, Glenda, invited the judo community to make origami cranes to send to Dave as a way of showing their love and support. The crane is a symbol of peace, love, hope and healing during challenging times that reminds us that we are not alone. Glenda had hoped to receive 1000 cranes, and was overwhelmed to receive over 5000 from all over the province. I was so honoured to be a part of the Judo community during this time, happily made several cranes myself, and this experience renewed my belief in the power of sport during an exceptionally difficult year. – Katie Thompson, Judo BC

Thank you for sharing these awesome sport moments with us! We can’t wait to see what’s in store for our community in 2022.