Anemki Unity Winter Classic draws hundreds of youth

By Rick Garrick

FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION—The Anemki Unity Winter Classic was a success with hundreds of Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth participating in hockey, basketball and floor hockey games from March 12-15 at the Fort William First Nation Arena.

The hockey component of the tournament featured 17 teams with about 250 participants, while the Special Olympics component featured about 50 participants in basketball and floor hockey games.

“The tournament went really well again this year,” says Fort William Chief Peter Collins. “This year we had an added feature [with] Special Olympics basketball and floor hockey added to it, so it was great. I’m looking forward to next year, when we’re thinking about adding another feature, and that is sledge hockey.”

Collins says the Special Olympics games were “really good.”

“The Chief and Council got to play basketball against the team and we got schooled in that,” Collins says. “And then we got to play floor hockey against the Special Olympics team too, and we got schooled in that too. So we didn’t do very well against them. They played well and they played hard.”

Collins says the organizers added the Special Olympics component to the tournament this year due to the request of his daughter Angela Collins, one of the Special Olympics players.

“My daughter has always wanted to be part of the activities and the opportunity to compete, but she couldn’t do it because of the physical issues she has,” Collins says. “So it was a great opportunity for all the young adults to participate, and it was a great turnout for us.”

Collins adds that a team from the Thunder Bay Police Service also played against the Special Olympics teams.

“The Thunder Bay Police are a great contributor to the Special Olympics,” Collins says. “They have good fundraisers and they help the young folk with disabilities very well in the City of Thunder Bay.”

The Fort William First Nation North Stars won the Midget finals with a 6-5 comeback win against the Fort William First Nation Eagles.

“It was an excellent game,” Collins says. “It was exciting to see them win. They had fun so it was good.”

The game was tied at 1-1 when an Eagles player accidentally deflected a shot into his own net for a 2-1 North Stars lead. The Eagles then tied the game at 2-2 before the North Stars scored two goals for a 4-2 lead. The Eagles then scored three straight goals for a 5-4 lead before the North Stars made their comeback with two goals to win the game.

“It looks like they had trouble, but they made the comeback,” Collins says. “They had fun, and it looks like they are all going away with smiles on their faces.”

The Ice Badgers won the Peewee finals 6-1 against the Predators; the Hurricanes won the Bantam finals 5-3 against the Fort William First Nation North Stars; and the Crossbar Crush won the Novice finals 4-2 against Buzzy’s.

“[It was] rough, a lot of body,” says Jersui Bannon, a defenseman with the Fort William First Nation North Stars bantam team, about the bantam finals.

“And we had a few penalties, which kind of took us down at the end of it,” says Daanis Pelletier, a left-winger with the Fort William First Nation North Stars bantam team.

Pelletier and Bannon enjoyed playing in the tournament.

“Playing with other people and making new friends was fun, even if they were on the other team,” Pelletier says.

“[I enjoyed] playing against the AAs, because it is like a challenge,” Bannon says.