The day was an overwhelming success.
The Ebb & Flow School hosted Track and Field Day with almost 200 grade nine to 12 students getting the chance to show off their talents. They competed in several traditional track and field events. They included the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m running events. They also competed in the long jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin, and discus.
Non-track events included base running and frisbee toss.
Edith Lavallee is the high school principal at Ebb and Flow School.
"I was very surprised at some of the kids who participated. They went station to station and gave it a try," said Lavallee. " It went very well."
Many of the athletes had never participated in track and field events before. That didn't stop them from putting up some great numbers, and it was all smiles.
"The boys and girls running was especially fantastic, their numbers were awesome," continued Lavallee.
Edith was electrified, not just by the student's extraordinary talents, but by a deep, resonating pride in being part of a school community where every individual came together in a powerful, unbreakable bond of support.
"It was great. The kids were cheering each other on," continued Lavallee. "For example, if someone didn't complete their jump, their fellow students were saying that's okay, that's okay, try again. They were really supporting each other. All the staff were cheering on the kids as well. It was an incredible day."
Lavallee, who says preparations are already in the works for next year's event, gives big credit to the committee that put the event together. Brad Dupasquier, Brooklyn Knaggs, Dana Gurke, and Patrick Desjarlais Jr. dedicated many hours leading up to the event and were front and centre throughout track and field day.
The day to remember ended with a 4x4 relay race. The female staff at the school went up against female students while male staff battled it out against male students.
Edith went into the event thinking the staff would take home the top prize. That wasn't the case. It was the students who won the relay.
"When they came in, the staff was so proud of the kids," ended Lavallee. "It was all in fun. Ending the day with that made a big difference for the kids."
So many incredible things are happening on the Ebb and Flow First Nation. Track and Field Day was one of them. Next year, Lavallee said they will expand the day, with students in grades seven and eight taking part.
