'I wasn't expecting it': Islanders celebrate wins at Indigenous Games

Team P.E.I. presented with John Fletcher Spirit Award as most sportsmanlike and fair-playing team

Image | NAIGTeamPEI

Caption: (From left to right) Keely Dyment, Logan Lewis and Nikeda Sark took home bronze medals from the 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)

Three Lennox Island youth are celebrating their victories at the North American Indigenous Games — the first medals Team P.E.I. has brought home from the games since 2002.
"I wasn't expecting it," said Nikeda Sark, who won two bronze medals in badmonton — for singles and for doubles. "I was really amazed, honestly."
Sarks partner in doubles, Keely Dyment said the feeling of winning a medal was "amazing."
Logan Lewis, 19, who won the bronze medal in 3D Archery said getting to that point takes "a lot of practice."

Image | NAIG medals

Caption: Lewis, Dyment and Sark were among the 5,000 athletes competing at the North American Indigenous Games — all three winning bronze in their respective sports. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)

"3D Archery is sport that's set up like a golf course and you're shooting an animal," he said.
"In my division [the foam target] is set up about 100 feet away," Lewis said, which forced him to navigate through the course shooting roughly 20 different targets along the way.

Image | Team PEI

Caption: P.E.I. sent 28 youth athletes to Toronto for the 2017 North American Indigenous Games competing in five sports: athletics, archery, badminton, swimming and rifle shooting. (Submitted by Craig MacDougall)

'More of a mental sport'

"It's more of a mental sport. If you go in thinking you're not going to do a good job … you're not going to end up winning," he said.
Team P.E.I. also took home a shared award: the John Fletcher Spirit Award. The award is given to the team that shows the most sportsmanship and fair play, Lewis said.
He added that it's an honour — in major part — because of their helpful and respected coaching staff.
"The coaches were always helping out, not only our athletes but other athletes when they needed it."