More than 1,200 athletes on 88 Indigenous teams in four divisions from across B.C. will be arriving in Terrace for the annual Junior All Native Tournament (JANT) hosted by Nisga’a nation from Mar. 17 to 22.
The games will be held at gymnasiums in the Terrace Sportsplex (hidber arena and main arena), Caledonia Senior Secondary School, Skeena Middle School, Thornhill Gymnasium, and Suwilaawks Community School. The four divisions include girls and boys under 13 and under 17 categories.
“Terrace is already a hub for a lot of communities. A lot of people from the Nisga’a population live here. It’s an opportunity for a lot of our families and supporters to watch the games as usually when it’s down south, there’s a limited amount of people that can attend the games,” said the tournament manager Mike Davis.
The teams will start arriving in the city on Mar. 16, with the opening ceremony of the tournament scheduled on Mar. 17, at the Terrace Sportsplex. The games begin on Mar. 18.
“There’s still a few teams on the wait lists. We know a lot of teams overbook in the beginning and we are hoping they’d release some rooms that they are not needing so we can make sure all teams are accommodated,” Davis said.
The tournament has structured a double elimination format for 17 and under, which means a team will be out of the tournament after losing two games. The 13 and under division will start with a round-robin, with the top teams moving to the next round. A random draw will determine the initial matchups with winners from last year getting a bye.
“It’s not just a basketball tournament. It’s an opportunity for First Nations youth making connections with other First Nations communities,” Davis said. “We hear stories of people having life-long friends with people they competed with in the tournament.”
All the championship games will be taking place at the Terrace Sportsplex on Friday, Mar. 22.
“There is possibility that Terrace can be a host of the JANT every three years,” Davis said. “Nisga’a has previously hosted U-16 zone playoffs, where the top two teams in the zone tournament represented their region in the Junior All Native Tournament. In the 90s, they changed the age category to align with the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) age criteria and decided to add a younger age group with 13 and under divisions in boys and girls.”
The results of games and schedules will be regularly posted on the official website of JANT, www.nisgaajant2024.ca. Updates will also be available on social media channels of JANT, with CFNR Radio live-streaming the games.
The committee consists of volunteers from our four Nisga’a communities: Gingolx. Laxgalts’ap, Gitwinksihkw, and Gitlaxt’aamiks.