Two members of the Coquitlam Cheetahs track and field club are getting ready to compete on one of the biggest stages of their young athletic careers.
Hanna Tyndall and Amin Shahsaver will be heading to the 2014 B.C. Summer Games in Nanaimo next week where they will join the rest of the Fraser Valley Zone 3 contingent to compete against the province's top athletes in their age group.
Paul Self, president of the Coquitlam Cheetahs, said the Summer Games gives young competitors the opportunity to test their skills at a high level.
"It is a stepping stone," he said. "With all the kids that we have put through the Games, it is always the starting point for bigger and better things in track or sports in general."
Tyndall will compete in the 100 m hurdles event, while Shahsaver is expected to compete in the shot put event.
Much like larger international track meets, the pair will take part in an opening and closing ceremonies and each event is followed up with a medal presentation.
For track athletes accustomed to competing in individual sports, the Games are often the first time competitors experience what it is like to be on a team.
"It is where track and field becomes like one of the other team sports," Self said. "The team concept is there and they often develop lifelong friendships."
Self said the 15-year-old Tyndall is a strong hurdler and is in the mix with some of the other top runners in the province. She is expected to compete in a provincial championship this weekend in Kamloops to prepare for the upcoming Games.
Meanwhile, Shahsaver has been having a strong showing in the field over the last year. Self noted that the 14-year-old shot putter was named the club's most improved athlete in 2013 and this year he has been adjusting to competing in a higher age group.
"He just moved up into an older group and he is finding his way there where he fits with this," Self said. "It gets harder when you are on the younger side of an age group."
If Tyndall and Shahsaver want inspiration, they can look no further than fellow Coquitlam Cheetah club members James Linde, Benjamin Ayesu-Attah and Nathan George.
The trio of athletes, who once competed in the B.C. Summer Games, are getting ready to compete in the NACAC under-23 track and field event in Kamloops next month.
The international competition - NACAC is the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics organization - is often a stepping stone to the Olympic Games.
"Athletes come back from the [B.C. Summer Games] with more confidence," Self said. "They start to see what this can turn into."
The B.C. Summer Games are expected to take place between July 17 and 20 in Nanaimo. FOr more information go to www.bcgames.org.
