Contributed
Four of Surrey’s junior curlers, brothers Jordan and Tyler Tardi and Brad and Rhett Hildenbrandt – all from Cloverdale – joined more than 600 international athletes, attending the International Children’s Games this past week.
The International Children’s Winter Games were held from January 26-31, 2011 in Kelowna, B.C.
Kelowna hosted international youth aged 12 to 15 for a week of fun-filled games, sporting events, festivals and more.
The event put emphasis on sporting ideals, respect, and understanding different cultures and ways of thinking.
The aim of the Games was not to win but to create strong bonds of friendship and solidarity between young athletes from all over the world.
The two sets of brothers, who had never competed together prior to this event, proudly represented Surrey, making their way to the medal round after finishing the round-robin with a record of 3 and 1. They came in 4th, losing to the Korean team in the semi-final event, who went on to take the gold medal.
The boys had the opportunity to meet other athletes from around the world.
Thirty-nine cities from 15 countries were represented at the games.
This was only the fifth time that the winter games were held and the first time that they were held in North America.
It was an experience of a lifetime and the Surrey kids all agreed that the highlight of the week was playing the team from Korea.
For more information on the International Children’s Games – Winter Sports, visit http://internationalchildrensgames-kelowna2011.com.
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