Meet members of the Ultimate Spirit team at W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership SS
BRENTWOOD BAY, British Columbia — When asked about the best thing about being a part of the Ultimate Spirit team at W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Secondary School in Brentwood Bay, Grade 12 student Kendrick Griffith says, “Everyone is included and there is not any favouritism. It’s a fun sport and a great get-together because everyone is welcome!” Kendrick’s teammate, Miracle Bartleman, Grade 11, adds “We have a safe place to be ourselves.”
The spirit of Ultimate has most certainly rubbed off on these two Indigenous students and their fellow Grade 10-12 teammates who look forward to their weekly Ultimate practice at the school that serves the families of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nations. The program is run by Community Ultimate Spirit Program (CUSP) whose mission is “to unify connection, healing, and wellness in communities through the culture, spirit and sport of ultimate”. Additionally, its vision statement aims at “transformational connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities”.
At one level, Ultimate Spirit is just like any other team sport with athletic requirements, where players develop physical techniques, work as a team, learn to communicate, and score points to win games. But Ultimate Spirit takes its objectives to the next level. Jimmy Roney, CUSP’s program coordinator and facilitator for W̱SÁNEĆ School, is emphatic about how Ultimate Spirit prioritizes fundamental values over individual or even team objectives. This is why participants learn and model values that create an atmosphere where the quality of the experience as a whole takes precedence above all else. He lists these values as Community, Connection, Inclusion, Growth Mindset and Spirit. Roney adds that “the program works in support of holistic growth and the development of socio-emotional learning. Sports shape culture, and what’s important for us is that we promote inclusion, gender equity and anti-racism.”
The Ultimate team at the University of Victoria recently developed a strong relationship with the participants at W̱SÁNEĆ School, playing games with each other and starting a crucial dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in a real-life setting. While Ultimate Spirit has brought together the two diverse communities into an inclusive and friendly atmosphere, the sport has also strengthened the W̱SÁNEĆ School students’ own cultural identity. The students have designed their own jerseys using logos that speak to their Indigenous heritage and adopting the SENĆOŦEN language in various aspects of the sport. One could say that CUSP’s program is also being shaped by its participants.
The students and teachers at W̱SÁNEĆ School were enthusiastic in their responses to questions about what they had learned since playing Ultimate. Says Miracle, “I have learned about unity and the success of working together as a team. I have also learned to respect my teammates and trust each other.” Teacher Hayley Atkins told us that “Ultimate has brought voice and choice and the joy of movement back to our school. We love laughing with our Wolf Pack and bonding with them at a different level than teacher-student and getting to know them as teammates.”
If bringing individuals and communities together were the goal of Ultimate Spirit, then the testimonials from all participants point to a very high success rate!
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