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Bowen kids rack-up athletic awards at West Van Secondary

All Bowen Island students who commute to school in West Vancouver have a longer day than their peers on the mainland, but for those who participate in school sports, their days are much longer.
studentatheletes
From left, Bowen kids who won atheletic award at WVSS: Josie Huskisson, grade 12; Charlie Welsh; Finn Rainsley-Ray, grade 8; Elliot Beamer, grade 9; Mattias Blomberg, grade 8; Jack Welsh, grade 12. Missing: Maia Blomberg, grade 12, won the Scholar-Athelete Award and the Big Block Award for doing four sports for every year of highschool; Grady Huskisson, grade 8, who won a Bronze Medallion for the number of sports played this year; and Niko Blomberg, grade 11, who won a Bronze Medallion and a Service Award.

All Bowen Island students who commute to school in West Vancouver have a longer day than their peers on the mainland, but for those who participate in school sports, their days are much longer. This fact does not seem to have not stopped young Bowen Islanders from participating, and excelling in school sports, and many of them were awarded for their efforts at a surprise ceremony this week.
“The commute is worth it,” says Josie Huskisson, who played volleyball, soccer and gymnastics throughout her highschool career. “I’ve met all my best friends through sports, and it’s been so much fun.”
Maia Blomberg, who won the Scholar-Athelete Award, says that being on a team can be helpful for academic achievement.
“Especially coming from Bowen, its good to have the network of friends that team sports builds for you. And all your friends will have the same pressures as you,” she says. “What’s not good about being from Bowen is the public transportation, especially when the buses don’t line up with the ferry.”
Elliot Beamer says he credits the Bowen lifestyle to the fact that there are so many young atheletes.
“It helps when you grow up running around in the woods,” he says. “And we’ve all grown up eating really healthy food.”