Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

P.G. athletes reflect on hometown Winter Games

She won a 2015 Canada Winter Games medal of every colour, including two gold, yet Emily Dickson still can't quite believe it. The Team B.C.

She won a 2015 Canada Winter Games medal of every colour, including two gold, yet Emily Dickson still can't quite believe it.

The Team B.C. 17-year-old Caledonia Nordic Ski Club biathlete from Prince George was a major contender in all four of her races at Otway in week one of the Games.

As the week went on, she kept moving up a step on the podium.

She won bronze in the 12.5-kilometre individual race on Feb. 15, followed that up with silver in the 7.5km sprint on Feb. 17, and gold in the 10km pursuit on Feb. 18 and gold in the 3 x 6 women's team relay on Friday.

"It still hasn't totally set in yet," said Dickson on Saturday. "The week flew past. Looking back, there are so many great memories and experiences. I don't think the Games could have gone any better for me."

Her fellow Prince George teammate, speed skater Lina Hiller of the PG Blizzard also won a handful of medals on the long track last week.

She won three silver medals in the mass start, team pursuit and 1,000m for Team B.C. She posted personal bests in those races, as well as the 500m and 1,500m where she finished fifth in both of them.

After only one day of racing on the outdoor oval in Prince George on Feb. 15, the majority of the long track competition shifted to the indoor ice at the Pomeroy Centre in Fort St. John on Wednesday.

"The whole experience was so amazing, it was great to get some the races in for one day and have them (everyone) see all the hard work that went into the oval," said Hiller. "(In Fort St. John) I had to be mentally prepared and looked past that. I was there to race and do my best. It was really awesome to go to Fort St. John - the volunteers and venue were awesome."

Hiller's twin brother, long track speed skater Nico was fifth in the 5,000-metres, sixth in the 3,000m, and seventh in the 1,500m.

"I was just happy to have the opportunity, that there was a back-up plan in Fort St. John," he said. "That we were able to skate. I was pretty happy with my times and I can take a lot of good things away from them."

Even though he was only in his hometown for the first five days of the Games, Hiller also couldn't believe the transformation that occurred around Prince George prior to the start of the Games and during week one.

"It was a really good experience, I was really expecting this," he said. "The whole set-up - I had no clue what everything would like like, seeing all the signs. It was amazing. The library, the cafeteria at the Civic Centre. It was a positive experience and I was able to rekindle a lot of old friendships."

B.C.'s ringette squad was selected last March and been together on and off since then leading up to last week.

It skated to a sixth-place finish at the Coliseum where crowds were raucous for every game, no matter who was playing.

For Sydney Irving, an 18-year-old Prince George forward on the team, it was an experience like no other competing in her hometown.

"Overall, it was a positive experience, I learned a lot from the coaches and living with 20 other people who are like a family and did a lot together," she said. "There were tons of people there (at the Coliseum) and the feedback from friends and family who hadn't seen that high level before was they were hooked, they loved watching it.

"I just want to say a huge thank-you to everyone who put me through this program (PG Ringette, B.C. Ringette) all the way."

For Avril Harris, captain of B.C.'s Wheelchair Basketball team that finished seventh, it'll be the memories of playing in his hometown for the first time in three Games appearances.

"The crowds gave us a boost, even though were there to play basketball," he said. "The team came together quite well and we stuck together. We gave it the best we had. We were like a big family."

B.C. lost its last game to New Brunswick by one point, 66-65.

"That was the most fun game we've had all year - on offence, defence. It was smooth. We made them work for that one point."

Now that their competitions are over, the P.G. contingent will enjoy the Games and cheer on the rest of their B.C. teammates.

But while their Canada Games careers may be over, their competitive seasons are not.
Dickson has the Canadian Biathlon Championships from March 9 to 15 in Hinton, Alta.
"I'm going to keep the momentum rolling," she said. "I feel really solid on my skis. I'm going to go back to the range and keep shooting and build on that."
The Hillers will resume training and travel to Calgary's Olympic Oval to compete in Canada Cup No. 4 at the end of March.
Harris will play for the senior provincial team.
And Irving, with the goal of earning her kinesiology degree, will resume playing for Prince George's 18-plus team. She's also a Team B.C. ringette alumni and will be called on in 2018 to compete against the players being considered for B.C.'s 2019 Games team.