Six B.C. athletes are among 38 young Canadian Para athletes representing their country in Chile this week.
The 2025 Youth Parapan American Games are underway Oct. 31 to Nov. 9 in Santiago and O’Higgens in South America.
Armstrong’s Brea Duncan, 18, is competing in para swimming, along with five other Canadian athletes in the sport.
Duncan competed in five swimming events in August at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, NL., after winning a pair of bronze medals at the provincials.
Also competing in para swimming is Victoria’s Roy Pan and Chilliwack’s Lucas VanHerk.
Canada is also represented in wheelchair basketball, goalball, boccia and Para table tennis.
Elise Froese (wheelchair basketball, women’s 3×3 team) and Harry Nickerson (men’s goalball team) will carry the flag for Canada in the Opening Ceremony.
Froese, from Victoria, first competed for Canada internationally at the U25 women’s world championships in 2023. The 19-year-old recently made her senior national team debut at the 2025 Americas Cup in Bogota, where Canada won bronze. She is also a student-athlete, playing wheelchair basketball at the University of Arizona while majoring in religion.
“I’m honoured and excited to be selected as flag bearer for the Youth Parapan American Games,” said Froese. “It’s an amazing opportunity to represent wheelchair basketball on the international level, and I couldn’t be prouder to carry the flag for Canada at the opening ceremony.”
Also in wheelchair basketball is Kamloops’ Cameron Gelowitz and Vancouver’s Jeffer Ward.
This will be the sixth edition of the Youth Parapan Am Games, and the first to be hosted in Chile following the successful Santiago 2023 Parapan Am Games. More than 1,500 athletes between the ages of 14 and 21 from over 30 countries are expected to participate.
This is the largest Canadian contingent set for a Youth Parapan Am Games and will be the first Canadian team to compete since 2017. Nine provinces are represented by the athletes: Ontario (14), Alberta (seven), British Columbia (six), Quebec (three), Newfoundland & Labrador (two), Nova Scotia (two) and one each from Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba.
They will be supported on the ground by 29 coaches and support staff.
“The Youth Parapan Am Games is an exciting opportunity for these young athletes to gain international experience against world-class competition and is a valuable step towards one day competing at the Parapan Am Games or Paralympic Games,” said Catherine Gosselin-Despres, Chief Sport Officer, Canadian Paralympic Committee. “We are looking forward to watching them compete and following their journeys and wish each athlete the best of luck.”