The Cariboo Chilcotin Gymnastics Association honored one of their own in Williams Lake on Saturday.
A special award given in memory of Maddy Croswell, an honor roll student, dedicated gymnast, and well loved member of her community, was presented during the Cariboo Classic held at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Centre.
“Today was incredibly emotional and meaningful for our family. We are beyond grateful to the Cariboo Chilcotin Gymnastics Club for creating the Spirit of the Sport in honor of our beautiful daughter Maddy. To see her remembered not only for her talent but for her kindness, heart, encouragement resilience, and love for others means more to us than words can express.” Maddy’s mom said,
“Thank you for honoring her memory in such a thoughtful and beautiful way knowing that this award will continue to recognize athletes who embody the same spirit Maddy carried both on and off the floors is deeply special to our family. We will never forget the love and support from the gymnastics community has shown us. Thank you for keeping Maddy’s spirit alive and allowing her legacy to continue inspiring athletes for years to come.”
B.C. Attorney General, Niki Sharma was invited to attend the special award ceremony.
“I was honored to be here today to support them and help them tell their story in the way that they want to about not only the beautiful girl that Maddy was, but also the loss that they suffered and what needs to change.” Sharma said,
“We’re going support Chelsa to be able to do that in her own voice and do everything we can, use every tool we can to bring about the change we need.”
Sharma added when it comes to online harm they’ve been calling on stronger national rules when it comes to safety and filling in the gaps as a Province.
“As a reality it’s my strong belief that we have to set public interest standards to make sure that those companies are not experimenting on the minds of our children and we are working hard to push on the Federal Government first but if they don’t do it, which I hope they will soon, then we will fill in the gap here in BC.”
Sharma said online harms are deeply concerning.
“I’ve heard far too many examples of kids that are left vulnerable to the worst of harms online. And parents across the province and across the world feeling helpless to understand how to keep their kids safe in this ever changing technology. Government’s need to act in the public interest and protect our young people. It’s crucially important.”
When the cell phone ban use in schools started, Sharma noted that they also launched a digital literacy across the province so there are tools schools can take up to teach kids about the harms and dangers online.
– story done by Pat Matthews, My Cariboo Now staff
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