North Shore girls hoop it up at Summer Games
Eight girls from the North Shore took centre stage at the BC Summer Games, winning their Vancouver-Squamish basketball team a bronze medal in a 41-40 overtime victory.
The West Vancouver, Handsworth and Carson Graham secondary students were joined by two other team members from Vancouver at the Games in Surrey late last month, where they battled against teams from across the province until finally squaring-off against Fraser River-Delta in the bronze medal game.
“In April, May, June and July, we met 60 times for games or practices. It was like another season of basketball,” the girls’ coach Rob Ros told The Outlook after the big win.
Hard work paid off for the 10 girls, whose team placed in the top three in the province.
“It was tough. There was a lot of competition, but we did it,” says Angie Walker, a Grade 9 student from Carson Graham, as she proudly holds her heavy bronze medal.
Being a close-knit team was key to their success, says Angie’s mother, Amy. “There wasn’t any standout star. If someone wasn’t having a good day, they could count on their teammates. It was very balanced.”
Nicola Ros, a Grade 9 student from Handsworth, said her bond with other team members was strengthened during the BC Games, where the girls also met friends competing in other sports.
“The other teams had really good players, but I still knew we’d do pretty well, and we did.”
The road to the BC Games was tough, with the girls having to make the North Shore Zone Team back in May. Eight zone teams were then whittled down from 16 across the province to participate in the Games.
But the test wasn’t nearly over. The girls had to try out once again in June for the Zone 5 Vancouver-Squamish team, made up of players from Vancouver and the North Shore.
The North Shore basketball players proved they had the talent to keep up with girls from across the bridge. Eight out of 10 players hailed from North and West Vancouver, while only two were from Vancouver. The team had six girls from Handsworth, a local basketball powerhouse that placed second at provincials this year, and one from both Carson Graham and West Vancouver.
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