Team SK launches protest over handling of NAIG swim event
- EFN Staff | July 25, 2014
Team Saskatchewan has launched an official protest against the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Council after it says the Council has passed a motion that would count medals and points from a non-sanctioned event.
Earlier this year, the NAIG Host Society announced it would have to cancel the swimming events for this year's NAIG. In the end, swimming went ahead, but as a non-sanctioned event: it has been held off-site in Moose Jaw and run by swim officials from British Columbia.
Team Sask spokesperson Eugene Arcand says last night Team Sask launched an official protest at the news that the medals from the event will be counted in the standings.
He says there are more than 20 with only one or two competitors, and he says for all other sports, NAIG Council rules say there must be at least three competitors. He also adds that the Host Committee did not approve the officials running the swim event.
Arcand says when their protest was presented to the Council, Team Sask was asked for a compromise, which it initially considered.
"But they knew we wanted at least three in each race,: explains Arcand, as well as only two competitors from each province, state or territory per race. In the end, Arcand says Council didn't support that part of the motion, which is why Saskatchewan is re-launching its protest.
NAIG Council President Dave Canadian, who was unable to attend last night's meeting, says his understanding is that the motion that was passed states if there were fewer than three competitors in a race, competitors would still receive their medals, but those medals and points would not be counted in the standings.
Further, Canadian says two people from the Council, who have no conflict of interest, along with an Elder and a member of Team Saskatchewan will scrutinize all swim results where there were three or more competitors.
He doesn't know when that will happen but says it has to be done prior to the closing ceremonies.
Arcand questions what kind of message the situation sends.
"If you include medal counts from a non-sanctioned event, yes, it will skew the standings, because we have no athletes in a sport we have dominated in the past.
"We didn't work on our team all year long for them to lose."
Last night, Team Saskatchewan was leading the medal count with 100 and British Columbia was second with 83. This morning, Team Saskatchewan has 103 medals and British Columbia has 120, 52 of which came from swimming. Canadian couldn't confirm if those medals were all from events with three or more competitors, and Arcand says those results were inputted very late last night without scrutiny from outside observers.
For updated medal standings, visit NAIG's website.
Arcand says Saskatchewan athletes were pulled from swimming for safety and insurance reasons and put into other sporting events.
"What games recognizes medals from non-sanctioned events?" asks Arcand, who worries about the impact the controversy will have on the young people, but says Team Sask doesn't take the situation lightly.
"We can't complacently let them (NAIG Council) walk all over us."