It was a family affair on the sand for Team BC as the beach volleyball finals played out on the sand today at Snye Park. Siblings Quinci and Liam Birker (Kelowna) and Darby and Devon Dunn (South Surrey) together with their parents travel as a pack. The girls, Quinci and Darby, and the boys, Liam and Devon, have been playing together for several years despite living four hours apart.
The bond between the families is evident with both sets of parents travelling to support their children in Fort McMurray. Devon Dunn even shared his sunglasses after Quinci Birker broke hers during practice. The guys never wavered in their support.
“I’m confident they are going to take this," said Devon confidently before the girls played. "They are ready.”
Quinci Birker and Darby Dunn dominated Alberta throughout the match taking the first set 21-12 and the second 21-15 to take the gold medal.
“We were a little nervous going into the game, especially after watching our brothers,” admits Quinci. “But we felt good, and played our game,” said Darby.
When asked about the Games experience, both girls immediately identified the venue and volunteers as highlights. Volunteer Agnes Aleman from Fort McMurray was a stand out for both girls.
“All of the volunteers are just so sweet,” said Darby.
“But there is one (Agnes) who was cheering for us every game," added Quinci. " She was always giving us high fives and shook our hands after the game. She was just awesome!”
It was clear the feeling was mutual. When asked how she felt about the Birker-Dunn team, Aleman enthusiastically replied, “They have good placement, they are very wise and can really spike it! They serve really well and deserved to win the gold! I am so proud of them!”
While the girls served up gold, their brothers also finished the Games with a silver medal. The male duo met Alberta for the second time in the tournament, losing both sets 21 -13 and 21-19 respectively.
“We felt good going in, once we stepped onto the court the nerves set in,” Devon Dunn said. “And it’s hard to control. Today we just didn’t have our best game,” admitted Liam Birker.
It was a golden day in the final day of competition at the track. Team BC took gold in both the men’s and women’s 4 x 400m relays, silver in men’s 3000m, bronze in women’s 400m hurdles, and silver and bronze in women's Heptathlon. Hannah Rolfe (Langley) sailed over the bar to take gold in women's high jump.
In gymnastics, Dawson Friesen (Abbotsford) picked up gold in vault and floor. Cohen Kiers (Abbotsford) took top spot in parallel bars and high bar and finished with bronze in floor and pommel horse. Victor Blaine (Langley) took silver on pommel horse and Ryan Woodhead (Delta) brought home bronze on high bar. Darby McIntyre (Salt Spring Island) tumbled to gold on the floor exercise final with a score of 14.8.
Team BC’s women’s basketball team powered their way to bronze with a 56-48 win over Alberta. The men’s basketball team were able to edge out Manitoba for gold in a thrilling game. The final score was 66 -60 for BC and guard Michael Kelly (North Vancouver) drained four three-pointers in the win.
Team BC women’s cyclists swept the podium Monday for the fourth-consecutive day. Emily Handford (West Vancouver), Kelsey Macdonald (Pitt Meadows) and Stephanie Denroche (Whistler) finished one, two, and three, respectively, in general classification. Sean Fincham (Squamish) topped the podium twice today first in general classification and then again in mountain bike. Handford and Macdonald also medalled twice today winning gold and silver, respectively, in women's mountain bike.
To wrap up the day every wrestler went home with a medal as Team BC earned 11 gold, nine silver, and two bronze on the mats.
Following Phase one, Team BC leads the overall medal count with 169 medals, 77 of which are gold. Phase two sports, which include rowing, swimming, triathlon, indoor volleyball, softball, soccer, golf and rowing begin on August 13.
Team BC Pep Rally
Welcome to Wood Buffalo phase two athletes!! Let’s all get pumped and ready for the week ahead!!! Join us for an hour of fun including a photo booth, contests, cheering, and some time to meet your fellow Team BC athletes. Be sure to bring your camera and your Team BC Spirit!
Date: Wednesday, August 12 10:30 – 11:30am
* Please note this is a change in the start time
Location: Shell Place (Indoor)
Wear: Team BC New Balance dri-fit tee, Team BC shorts
Relive the action
There are lots of great avenues to catch up on the action from the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games. Check out these links for some great photos, videos, and SportsNet highlight clips.
Flickr - All the photos from Team BC's amazing photographer, Kevin Bogetti-Smith are posted here. For great action shots of your favourite sport - this is where you want to go. All photos are available for download.
YouTube - Daily feature videos from Team BC Mission staff and other videos reporting on Team BC at the Western Canada Summer Games are posted here.
SportsNet - The official broadcaster of the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games, Rogers SportsNet is on location in Wood Buffalo. Daily highlight clips air every night on Sportsnet Central, 11pm MT on Sportsnet One. Tune in live or watch previous clips here.
Big Sky Spirit
Experience some Wood Buffalo hospitality with an exciting free community party featuring pyro, music, and celebration of the Games.
Date: Wednesday, August 12 8:30 – 10:00pm
Location: CNOOC Nexen Stage – Shell Place
Tomorrow's Schedule
2:30 Baseball Round Robin BC vs MB
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