The Western Canada Summer Games were established in 1975 as a multi-sport event to provide development opportunities for amateur athletes and to help them advance their skills in a competitive, but friendly environment. The games also serve to broaden the exposure of talented athletes and provide a training ground for national and international level competitions. Social and cultural elements round out the sporting events for athletes. The competitors for the WCSG consist of athletes from the four Western Provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), and the three Territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
The Western Canada Summer Games includes both para-athletics and wheelchair tennis. At the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, BCWSA athletes racked up medals in both sports. Wheelchair racer Tristan Smyth made headlines when he won three gold medals in one of his first major competitions. Djami Diallo and Eddy Solla also won big.
Wheelchair Tennis
Wheelchair tennis is the most recent entry into the Canada Summer Games. It was admitted in 2007 and allowed again in 2011. Though BCWSA athletes have taken part in only two games, however, they've racked up a lot of medals.
The following athletes have won medals at a Western Canada Summer Games:
Bouvier, Jerome: 3 gold (2007)
Ishikawa, Mika: 2 gold (2011)
Nichols, Chris: 2 gold (2007)
Ryan, Pat: 3 gold (2011)
View our Facebook album of the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games.
The next Western Canada Summer Games will be held in 2015 in Wood Buffalo.