Coastal Wave Basketball held its first ever Indigenous youth tournament June 5-7 at the University of Victoria. It was also a first for UVic, which had never hosted an Indigenous sporting tournament.
“This tournament is something that we had on our dream goals for the next few years,” said Coastal Wave Basketball director Tina Savea. “We thought strategically about where we wanted to host it.”
The first day of the tournament saw friends and families of team members sprawled across the many basketball courts in the Centre for Athletics, Recreation, and Special Abilities (CARSA), UVic’s campus gym.
Around 40 teams were registered for the tournament, yielding in over 650 players from all over Vancouver Island. The Nuu-Chah-Nulth teams were on fire. The U10 co-ed team Itty Bitty Ballers and the U13 girls team YFN Ravens represented the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation, while the Maaqtusiis Suns competed for Ahousaht and two Tatuus teams from Port Alberni competed in the under 13 and under 17 boys divisions. The U13 Tatuus ended up claiming their division.
The court was bright with smiles when the U10 co-ed team Itty Bitty Ballers faced off with Kelset. The Ballers defeated Kelset 28-12, carrying over their winning streak from the Junior All Native Tournament back in March. By Sunday, they won the tournament’s U10 championship.
Taleah Touchie of the Itty Bitty Ballers received the Coastal Wave Basketball MVP award for U10 girls and co-ed. Similarly, Micah Jack received an MVP award for U10 boys and co-ed.
Friendly rivalries continued into the evening with the U13 girls’ teams YFN Ravens and Maaqtusiis Suns. The Ravens won 50-26.
Suns coach Robert Stanley noted the hard work the players put into playing basketball, as well as the “big target” on the girls’ backs after winning the JANT silver division title against the Ravens earlier this year.
“We tell them at the beginning of every season: it’s up to you what you want to bring to the court,” said Stanley. “They put in all the work. We just make sure they get there alright.”
‘Where culture meets the court’
Scrawled on the backs of every Coastal Wave Basketball t-shirt reads the slogan “Where culture meets the court.” This year, directors and participants emphasized the importance of engaging Indigenous culture with sporting events and opportunities.
Coastal Wave Basketball is a relatively new non-profit organization dedicated to running culturally inclusive programs and tearing down barriers for Indigenous youth in sports. They especially focus on uplifting girls in sports.
“If you focus on the girls and teach them strength, love and confidence, the boys will follow,” said founder and board chair Kim Graves.
Tina Savea highlighted how sporting events can foster existing relationships between friends and family. The stands are often full of supporters at all-Indigenous sporting events, with seats occupied by grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, parents and friends.
Both Anita and Tyson Touchie, who is Anita’s husband and coach of both Ravens and Ballers, taught the players cedar weaving before last year’s JANT. As a team, they created their own cedar headbands and wore it to the JANT opening ceremonies. They plan on creating shirts and vests with Aboriginal designs for the next JANT.
Anita Charleson-Touchie spoke on the sense of belonging children develop from being on the basketball teams.
“I’ve seen the power of connection. I’ve seen little kids – prior to being part of the basketball community – I’ve seen them with their heads down and walking past me,” she said. “After they’ve been participating and being part of the team, they have their heads up and take their time to wave and connect.”
Graves and Savea shouted out the Indigenous Education department at UVic for helping to make the tournament possible during the opening ceremony. Both women acknowledged the long-term benefits for youth to explore the UVic campus during the three-day tournament.
“I want every athlete walking around this campus to imagine themselves attending this university,” said Graves during the opening ceremony. “At the centre of everything we do is education.”
