A Chilliwack resident will help guide Team B.C. at the 2019 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships this spring.
Tana Mussell has been named the team manager for the boys team that will face off in Whitehorse in May. She’ll work alongside head coach Dwayne Roloson (Victoria) and assistant coaches Shane Gottfriedson (Kamloops) and Robert Vermette (Abbotsford) in a tournament that showcases top bantam and midget Aboriginal players from across the country.
The 2018 tournament included 10 teams, with B.C. joined by entries from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario South, Ontario North, Eastern Door & North, North, Atlantic and New Brunswick.
Team B.C. won gold with a 6-5 victory over Saskatchewan.
The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (I∙SPARC) selected the Team B.C. staff.
Chilliwack’s Lara Mussell Savage is Director of Sport for I∙SPARC.
The next step for pulling together Team B.C. is finding the 20 male and female players that will compete in Whitehorse, and to that end a selection camp is being held April 5-7 at the Matsqui Recreation Centre in Abbotsford.
To compete in the 2019 NAHC, players must meet the following criteria.
- A resident of British Columbia and be of Indigenous ancestry (First Nations, Métis, Inuit). Acceptable proof of ancestry includes status card, treaty card, provincial Métis card, Inuit or Inuvialuit identification. For those without a card, a formal Declaration of Ancestry may be completed with supporting documentation (form available upon request).
- Be registered or eligible to be registered with B.C. Hockey. (Players currently not registered with B.C. Hockey may be registered via this camp for an additional fee of $40.)
- Be bantam or midget age as of the 2018-19 competitive season (born 2001 to 2005).
The cost of the selection camp is $120 and players must pre-register online at this link.
I∙SPARC is also accepting applications for two trainer positions, and that can be done online at this link.