Kelowna teens to compete at 2018 Children’s Games

Young athletes from Kelowna will head to Israel next year for a sports competition.

The 2018 International Children’s Games will be presented in Jerusalem next August, city council heard Monday.

It will be the 50th edition of the Games, which are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee.

Since hosting a Children’s Winter Games in 2011, Kelowna has been an enthusiastic participant in the event, with about 250 children from this city attending the 10 competitions held since then.

Fourteen teenage athletes from Kelowna competed at the 2017 Games, held in July in Kaunas, Lithuania. Four Ontario cities also sent young athletes, but interest in the competition is slight in other provinces.

“We’re the only city from Western Canada that goes to the Games, which is a bit disappointing,” said Heather Schneider, who heads up the Kelowna contingent.

At the Kaunas Games, Kelowna’s beach volleyball team of Maxim Gagne and Maxwell Ivans won the Fair Play Award.

Kelowna’s ongoing participation in the Games is funded in part by $7,000 in taxpayers’ money, approved by council. Other upcoming Games will be held in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Russia.

“This has been a great legacy for our community,” Mayor Colin Basran said. “Keep up the great work.”