Mississauga, ON – Following the successful hosting of the Masters Indigenous Games 2018 and the Toronto 2017 North American Indigenous Games, the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO) announced Friday the open bid process to host the 2019 Ontario Indigenous Summer Games. ASWCO invites interested Ontario municipalities/communities to participate in the provincial bid process to determine the Host City/Community that will work with the governing body on welcoming young Indigenous athletes from around the province, for four days of sport and culture.
“The Ontario Indigenous Summer Games is the core event for ASWCO to showcase the strength, skill, and determination of our youth,” said Marc Laliberte, President, Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario. “These Games provide a great opportunity to identify athlete talent and begin the development of Aboriginal Team Ontario for the 2020 North American Indigenous Games. This event will also continue our mission of celebrating diverse cultures within First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities.”
Important Deadlines
| Date | Outcome | ||
| August 31, 2018 | Letters of Intent due from Potential Host Communities | ||
| September 2018 | Bid Guidelines Discussed with Interested Bidders | ||
| September 28, 2018 | Final Bid Submissions Due | ||
| October 2018 | Site visits with ASWCO Bid Review Committee | ||
| November 16, 2018 | Public Announcement of Host Community for 2019 OISG |
More than 1,500 Indigenous youth within Ontario participated in tryouts for the 2017 North American Indigenous Games. The last Ontario Indigenous Summer Games took place in 2016 within the Southwest Region (Six Nations of the Grand River), with thirty-five percent of the participants from Northern Ontario.
Bid Guidelines and specific instructions for OISG 2019 bid submissions may be found on the ASWCO website at the following link: http://aswco.ca/ontario-indigenous-summer-games/.
ASWCO Quick Facts:
- The Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO) is the official Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sporting Body (P/TASB) for Ontario and serves all 133 First Nations, in addition to Inuit and Métis Peoples, living both on and off reserve, in urban and rural settings.
- A legacy of the 2017 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), ASWCO successfully hosted the inaugural Masters Indigenous Games (MIG) from July 12-15 in Toronto. The MIG 2018 featured an opening Gala, both contemporary and traditional sports, a cultural village, Pow Wow and community feast. More than 5,000 were in attendance over the four-day event, with 600 participants taking part in the Games and representation from 6 countries and 59 Indigenous communities. Learn more at www.mastersindigenousgames.ca.
- ASWCO operates more than forty events on an annual basis, including multi-sport and leadership camps, the Ontario Native Basketball Invitational, the Ontario Native Volleyball Invitational, sports clinics, try-outs for Aboriginal Team Ontario, conferences, workshops, and retreats.
- ASWCO has developed a number of strategies to ensure its providing relevant community programming, including a Far North Strategy, Urban Indigenous Strategy, Youth Leadership and Mental Health Strategy and a High-Performance Strategy.
- Net proceeds from Toronto 2017 NAIG were directed to a Legacy Fund, aimed at increasing sport and wellness programming, services, and equipment to Indigenous youth and communities, across the province of Ontario.
Acknowledgment
ASWCO honours the traditional lands and homelands of all Indigenous Peoples and communities across the province of Ontario, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis living both on and off reserve, in rural and urban communities.
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