Nine Delta athletes will be part of the Team BC contingent looking to thrive on home soil at the 2015 Canada Winter Games which get underway on Friday in Prince George.
In total, 249 athletes, 49 coaches, 27 managers and 23 mission staff make up Team BC and they will compete against the best in the country in 19 sports.
This is the first time British Columbia has hosted the winter version of the Canada Games and Team BC is expected to be very competitive on home ground. Many high level athletes have launched their athletic careers through the BC Games and Team BC.
The Delta contingent includes: Sarah Daniels (curling) Minh Le (figure skating), Alex Farquharson (artistic gymnastics), Tavis Jamieson (judo), Owen Smith-Bishop (target shooting), Erin Higgins (wheelchair basketball), Paula Higgins (wheelchair basketball), Connor McDonald (hockey) and Nick Watson (hockey).
Watson and McDonald will be trying to help B.C. repeat as champions in men's hockey. The U16 blueliners are both top Western Hockey League prospects, drafted by Lethbridge and Kamloops respectively. They regularly suit up with the Delta Hockey Academy's U18 Prep team.
Daniels has established herself as one of the top junior age curlers in the country and will be skipping BC at the Games. The Seaquam secondary student was a first team all-star at the 2014 Junior Nationals, helping BC finish second. Her father Ernie is coaching the BC team.
Erin and Paula Higgins don't have to look far for inspiration. Their parents are both Paralympians who actually met on their way to the 1988
Paralympic Games in Seoul.
Their father Joe Higgins is a former national team coach who has been involved in the development of wheelchair basketball in Canada for over 30 years.
Farquharson trains out of Delta Gymnastics and earned his spot on the BC artistic men's team through a series of qualifying meets. His 2014 season was highlighted by a fifth place finish on vault at the Yokohama Cup in Japan.
Le is a four-time winner of the BC Skating Pond to Podium Super Series, while Jamieson has competed in judo at three previous BC Winter Games.
"One of the truly great benefits of hosting the 2015 Canada Winter Games right in our province is that it shines the spotlight on Team BC," said Coralee Oakes, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. "I know our home team will be excellent ambassadors as we welcome the rest of the country out west to compete and play in our backyard.
The Games will run until March 1.
