Prince George, Sept. 9, 2021 – This Thursday, September 9, Engage Sport North (ESN) will be opening the doors of Smithers’ very own High Performance Sports Centre located within Smithers Secondary School. The centre is home to a new campus for the Canadian Sport School in addition to a number of sports programs for athletes of all ages, levels and abilities.

Smithers Canadian Sport School offers student athletes and para-athletes on a high performance pathway in grades 10 – 12 an opportunity to balance their academic course load and dry-land strength and conditioning training in a structured, yet flexible learning environment.

“Our goal at Engage Sport North is to provide athletes in Northern BC with access to the best programs and facilities, allowing for opportunity to train in their sport(s) in a high performance environment that supports their goals,” explains Executive Director of Engage Sport North, Mandi Graham. “We believe high performance sport should be accessible to all athletes who have the will to compete.”

ESN opens the doors to the new centre to make high performance sport more accessible to all, and to encourage participation in sport of all kinds. It is one of the key pillars of the organization, and is part of a series of exciting initiatives in northwestern BC as the non-profit sport organization grows to meet the needs of northern BC communities.

“The Northwest has a real legacy for developing world class athletes,” says Stephen Duck, ESN Board Chair. “Antje VonSeydltiz national team rowing, Carol Huynh national team wrestling, Dan Hamhuis National Hockey League player and Olympic gold medallist, Trent Monkman University of Victoria basketball, Chantel Gammie Thompson River University soccer, Cara Brawdy University of Northern British Columbia soccer – a lot of talent is expected to come from the new Smithers centre.”

The only multi-sport organization of its kind in Northern BC, Engage Sport North advances sport participation and excellence in the north by delivering quality programs and services to athletes, participants, coaches, officials, and community sport leaders in three program areas: participation programs, sport development and performance services.

We would like to thank School District 54, the Northern British Columbia Community Sport Development Society and the 2015 Canada Winter Games Legacy Fund for their important contributions to bringing this centre to life.

For more information on Engage Sport North, the new centre and high performance programming, visit www.engagesportnorth.com

For media inquiries, please contact:
Mandi Graham, Executive Director
(250) 981-4978
mgraham@engagesportnorth.com