Mayor Andrew Jakubeit shows a bit of spirit with kids at the curling rink in Penticton.

2,000 athletes, coaches, managers, and officials from across BC will parade in at the Opening Ceremony for the Penticton 2016 BC Winter Games – in less than a year.

With an average age of 14 years old, these athletes represent the next generation of Canada’s elite athletes. The BC Winter Games provide a unique opportunity for athletes to experience provincial competition in a multi-sport Games setting taking the first step towards the national and international stage.

Competition will take place over four days in 17 sports such as badminton, biathlon, basketball,
curling, diving, figure skating, gymnastics, judo, karate, skiing and speed skating, plus more. The Host
Zone, Thompson-Okanagan (Zone 2), finished third at the 2014 BC Winter Games with 74 medals in
total, and 20 of those being gold finishes.

This will be the fourth time Penticton has hosted the BC Games. The city was the host of the inaugural
BC Summer Games in 1978, the 1990 BC Winter Games and the 1995 BC Summer Games.