As the coordinator of the Cree First Nation Fitness Challenge, I was extremely pleased with the response I received from the communities. The athletes each community sent as representatives truly gave an outstanding performance in their efforts to complete the challenge. It was my intent to bring together the most elite athletes within the Cree Nation. This came to be a reality on Saturday, August 10, 1996. This event was an honour to organize; it was time well spent. The communities and athletes made me feel very proud; they made me feel very happy. What they brought with them was the thrill and excitement of competition.
It was evident in their eyes, you could feel it in the air.
As a participant in the event, I was pleased to stand on the same ground as the most elite athletes within our Nation. This event created a unique camaraderie between the competing participants. The athletes’ participation added to the intensity of the event. Although the spectators were able to witness the visible challenges, I question if they were able to see the challenge within each individual athlete. You had to look deep into the eyes of the athletes to grasp even a bit of the real challenge inside.
As a member of the community, I found this event to be a positive experience. It promotes health, fitness and well-being. It was an extremely exciting event to watch. The intensity soared to the max right from the starting gun and remained there until that stopwatch finish. The “all-out” effort of each competing athlete was clearly evident. It was an honour to watch the finish and shake the hands of the athletes. We can truly say that the elite athletes of the Cree Nation were brought together, brought together to compete and challenge each other on the same course.
In closing, I would like to thank once again the communities and athletes who came together for this regional event. You made it an experience that I will not soon forget. A big thank-you goes out to the community of Nemaska, the people, the Band and everyone who played a special part in this event. Meequetch.
