Hundreds of young athletes gathered in Fort St. John over the weekend for the 2020 BC Winter Games, as the Kootenay Region collected 25 medals, 19 of which were won by local East Kootenay athletes.
Representing the Kootenay Region (Zone 1), the athletes earned eight gold, eight silver, and nine bronze medals.
The local athletes specifically earned medals in archery, biathlon, judo, alpine skiing, and cross country skiing events.
Don Corrigal, Assistant Coach for Zone 1 Kootenay Region Judo Team told MyEastKootenayNow.com that the Judo team earned six total medals, two gold, three silver, and one bronze.
“They came back quite pleased with themself,” said Corrigal, who is also the Head Instructor at the Cranbrook Judo Club. “One of the gold and one of the bronze was from the Cranbrook Club.”
Competing against other athletes aged 12 to 15 years old, Corrigal says a lot of the teens were able to test their skills and get their first taste of high-level competition.
“The BC Games as a whole are a good starting point for a lot of high-performance athletes in Canada. As a result of this, the two athletes from the Cranbrook Club are being given an opportunity to go with Judo BC to the National Championships this year if they want to do that. That’s kind of the first step up into a higher performance level for some of these local kids.”
Here’s the full list of local athletes that claimed medals at the 2020 BC Winter Games:
| Sport/Athlete | Medal | Category | City/Region |
| Archery | — | — | — |
| Lane Ogden | Silver | Boys Match Play Compound | Sparwood |
| Taylor Dayman | Bronze | Girls Match Play Compound | Cranbrook |
| Taylor Dayman | Bronze | Girls 2 Day Aggregate Compound | Cranbrook |
| Biathlon | — | — | — |
| Kootenays | Bronze | Boys Team Relay | Kootenays |
| Kootenays | Bronze | Mixed Team Relay | Kootenays |
| Judo | — | — | — |
| Connor Grindle | Gold | Under 38 kg Male | Creston |
| Lawson Banbury | Silver | Under 50 kg Male | Creston |
| Lachlan Keirn | Silver | Under 73 kg Male | Creston |
| Jessi Melenka | Bronze | Under 44 kg Women | Cranbrook |
| Isabella Hunt | Gold | Under 63 kg Women | Kimberley |
| Teigan Bixby | Silver | Over 63 kg Women | Invermere |
| Ski – Alpine | — | — | — |
| Roxy Coatesworth | Gold | Slalom Two-Day Run Female | Golden |
| Ski – Cross Country | — | — | — |
| Kootenays | Bronze | Relay – 4 x 2 km Mixed | Kootenays |
| Emmylou Grieve | Gold | Individua Sprint Juvenile Girls Free Technique | Invermere |
| Lenni Stich | Gold | Individual Sprint Midget Boys Free Technique | Invermere |
| Lenni Stich | Silver | Interval Start Midget Boys Classic Technique | Invermere |
| Raleigh Tarte | Silver | Individual Sprint Midget Boys Free Technique | Kimberley |
| Raleigh Tarte | Gold | Interval Start Midget Boys Classic Technique | Kimberley |
| Carly Nickurak | Gold | Interval Start Juvenile Girls Classic Technique | Invermere |
| Total Medals | — | — | — |
| Kootenays (Region 1) | 25 Total | (8 Gold, 8 Silver, 9 Bronze) | Kootenays |
