Events and News
Events and News Worth Sharing
Final minutes made the difference in Bruins win over Langley Christian Lightning at BC Secondary School 2A Girls Championship
It was a victory for more than just the team.The Britannia Bruins were down three points with a quarter to play but outscored the Langley Christian Lightning 23-12 over the final 10 minutes to capture the BC Secondary School 2A Girls Championship on Saturday at Langley Events Centre in front of a standing room-only crowd of 1,100.
READ ALSO: B.C. girls basketball finals underway in Langley
A large chunk of that crowd were supporters for the inner-city Vancouver school.“It is not just them. It is the whole Downtown Eastside, east side of Vancouver, the kids that go to our feeder schools,” said Britannia coach Mike Evans. “The people who are always trying to get better and often can’t quite make it because of circumstance, so to be champion of something … it is something profound.”“It means a lot. It represents our Brit community. We were talking in the locker room, we were winning this for our Brit community,” said Shemaiah Abatayo. “We are not winning it for ourselves, we are winning it for the whole community because everyone is so supportive.”
The title was the first for Britannia since winning it all in 2012. The team placed eighth last year while Langley Christian won bronze and they were hoping to capture their first title at the 2A level (they have previously won at the 1A level).Saturday’s game began great for the top-seeded Lightning as they opened on an 11-2 run although the second-seed Bruins had cut it down to two points by the quarter break. Britannia took a 41-37 lead at the half.The third quarter saw Langley Christian jump ahead by eight points, but the Bruins had the deficit down three with 10 minutes to play.The Lightning, however, could not buy a basket in the fourth, hitting just four of their 17 field goal attempts (23.5 per cent) with the Bruins putting up 23 points.“We worked hard. We gave it our all but we just missed some shots, missed some lay-ups, some easy stuff which would have kept us a little closer down the stretch,” said Lightning coach Danielle Gardner. “That’s just the nature of the game.”
BC School Sports 2019-2020 Team of the Year “AA” Girls Basketball Coach of the Year – Mike Evans BRITANNIA GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM
The Britannia Girls Basketball Team in the 2019-2020 season were a truly dominate force. With a complete season record (including provincials) of 37-2, this team earned their stripes as the Girls AA Basketball Provincial Champions.
This team was led by head coach Mike Evans, along with their MVP co-captains, Shemaiah Abatayo and Surprise Munie who brought their team to new heights with their talented play and exceptional leadership.
This team stands for resilience, diversity, strength, and community. They did not see failure as an option, and they always stayed positive. Coach Mike Evans has been coaching high school sport for 52 years and he knows that winning a pro- vincial championship is no easy task, but when a championship possibility presented itself to this team this year, it pro- vided them with a greater sense of purpose and joy.
Not only was this team able to excel because of its strong team play, but also due to the support that this team has cultivated off the court from parents, classmates, and the community. This was a victory for Britannia Secondary School that had a profound effect of the lives of inner city kids and their families.
As far as the future of this program is concerned, Britannia is dedicated in community engagement with their players. Not only must these student-athletes fulfill their duties as both students and athletes, but this program finds immense value in producing high level citizens.Britannia would also like to recognize the graduating players from this championship team; Shemaiah Abatayo, Surprise Munie, Lagi Vaa, Tiano Sacco, Laiana Padolina, Annie Le, Anna Luon, One Dang, Rhodos Lagos (Manager), Ava Xu (Manager).
2020 Alumni Golf
This year Glenn Hara, Eddy Teranishi and Willy Quan hosted another successful day of golf for Britannia Alumni. By all accounts, a good time was had by all.
Britannia basketball star overcomes huge obstacles
Liberian refugee Surprise Munie turns life challenges into a successful high school basketball career. See her story on the Global News website.
https://globalnews.ca/video/6460378/britannia-basketball-star-overcomes-huge-obstacles
8th Annual Gala Date Set
The date for the BSS 8th Annual Gala Dinner & Silent Auction is Friday, April 24th!
Tickets are available for purchase online via Paypal. Please go to the donations page for Visa/Mastercard purchase.
Cheques can also be mailed to:
Unit 233-2688 Shell Road,
Richmond, BC
V6X 4E1
We would be honoured if you could join us for this special event at the Sheraton Wall Centre on that night. Funds raised at this gala will go directly to Britannia to help fund the growing demand for students’ educational programs.
In addition to purchasing tickets and attending the gala, you can help support the fundraising goal by donating a silent auction item. Please reach out to Willy Quan wq55555@gmail.com for more info on how you can contribute.
1968-1972 50ish Reunion
On September 14, 2019, the graduation years of 1968 through 1972 hosted a 50ish reunion. Over 300 attended with many from outside of the 5 years also in attendance.
It was a fantastic evening of dining and dancing to Souled Out, one of Vancouver’s R&B bands.
The evening was a resounding success.
All proceeds from the event will be going to the Britannia Support Society.
Congratulations to everyone for a very successful night. A great time was had by all,
The success is due all to the effort and time that 5 reunion committees put towards the event over the last couple of years.
Check out these photos to see what a great time everyone was having.
Ivy Liao – Bronze Medal
We have posted a lot about Ivy lately and her achievements in table tennis. The icing on the cake is the U18 Bronze medal at the 2019 Pan Am Games for Canada’s women’s team. Congratulations to Ivy and her teammates.
Earlier this month, Ivy also won gold in U18 girls doubles as well as Girls Team at the Canadian Junior National Championships.
Congratulations on a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations to Ivy and her teammates.
Class Valedictorian/Athlete Interviewed
Ivy Liao was the recipient of the Rotary Hoopathon Scholarships at the year’s graduation ceremonies. She was also chosen from the Graduating Class of Britannia Senior Secondary to be the Valedictorian. Ivy has also received throughout the years support from the BSS. Ivy is representative of the Youth we want to support.
Here is a quote of appreciation from Ivy for the support she received along with a link to an interview she did at the Canadian Junior Table Tennis championships where she has qualified for the Pan American Games.
Thank you and the Rotary Clubs once again for all the support you’ve given me recently and throughout my high school journey. Below is the link to the interview from the 2019 Canadian Junior National Championships that you commented on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/644985635538771/posts/2287600041277314/
Thank you so much once again, and I hope to see you around!
Ivy
7th Annual Gala Dinner A Success
Everyone who attended the 7th Annual Gala Dinner can attest to the fact that it was a great success. Great food, great friends, great cause.
Here are some photos from the event.
