Grand Forks sends 18 athletes to ultimate nationals; Sjoden wins bronze

Eighteen Grand Forks athletes competed at the Canadian Junior Ultimate Championships in Surrey this month, with Natalie Sjoden earning a bronze medal with Canyon Women.

Ultimate, a non-contact team sport played with a flying disc, has roots dating back to the late 1960s and is now played competitively at school, club, national and international levels.

The national championships ran Aug. 9–12 and drew junior teams from across Canada.

Sjoden was one of nine female-matching athletes from Grand Forks to compete this year — the most the community has had qualify for and attend nationals, according to Grand Forks Ultimate coach and administrator Kristy Kuromi.

“It also reinforces that great athletes can come from small communities and that small programs should not be overlooked,” Kuromi said of Sjoden’s medal. “It shows our young athletes what is possible if you have the right attitude and commitment.”

Sjoden said the tournament was demanding, but credited her teammates and coaches with helping Canyon reach the podium.

“It was so cool to share this experience with a group of girls with such strong determination and will,” she said. “It was a long and tiring tournament, but with coaches that believed in us, and a team that was able to fight together and never give up, it made it possible.”

Sjoden was the lone Grand Forks athlete playing with Canyon Women.

Four Grand Forks players — Carter Hanlon, Kaz Dunnet, Trystan Orser and Vilian Matheson — competed with Helios Open.

Khaos Open included Caleb Thiessen, James Catitig, Rhylan Phipps, Sage Kuromi and Josiah Stott-DeVries.

Eight local athletes competed with Khaos Women: Abby Arnold, Brooklyn Stooshinoff, Chloe Flodell, Juno Russell, Kali Romaine, Ralli Frederick, Sylvie Viebrock Hall and Willow Stewart.

All 18 are also part of the GFSS Wolves Ultimate program.

Kuromi said Grand Forks athletes can try out for touring teams around the province and generally choose programs based on travel distance, coaching, team goals and team dynamics.

Grand Forks Ultimate aims to field its own Kootenay Wild teams in both the open and women’s divisions, but assembling sufficiently large rosters can be difficult given the community’s small population.

That has led to partnerships with other B.C. programs.

“Grand Forks has had great partnerships with Khaos and Helios for many years and we were excited to be invited to play with Dusk two years ago,” Kuromi said. “We have a strong group of ultimate players in Grand Forks who are well regarded and desired by other teams.”

Players selected by teams based elsewhere in the province are also often able to do much of their training at home.

“Once an athlete has been selected to play for a touring team in another community, they usually train here in Grand Forks with the occasional training session or training camp with the host team,” Kuromi said. “Our coaching team is respected, so programs have been very supportive of allowing our youth to train in Grand Forks.”

Grand Forks has been sending athletes to junior nationals for several years.

Kuromi said four male-matching athletes competed with Helios in 2022. The following year, 15 male-matching players competed with Khaos and one female-matching player went with Helios.

In 2024, two male-matching players competed with Helios, three went with Vancouver Island-based Dusk and one female-matching player competed with Helios.

Last year produced a larger overall contingent, with 17 male-matching players competing on Grand Forks’ own Kootenay Wild team, four female-matching players with Helios and one with Dusk.

The results are part of a broader run of success for the local ultimate community.

Kuromi pointed to 12 Grand Forks athletes winning bronze at the 2024 BC Summer Games, Grand Forks Ultimate athletes competing for Canada at the 2025 Pan American Youth Ultimate Championships in Costa Rica, and Kootenay Wild finishing third at the 2025 B.C. Ultimate Championship.

This year, the GFSS junior Wolves won the Junior Tier I provincial title, while the senior Wolves won silver at the BC School Sports AA provincial championship. Thirteen Grand Forks youth also competed at the 2026 BC Summer Games, where their Zone 1 team finished fourth.

Sjoden herself was part of the 2024 BC Summer Games bronze-medal team and competed for Canada at the 2025 Pan American Youth Ultimate Championships.

Kuromi said Sjoden is now aiming even higher.

“Natalie is an incredible athlete and a strong role model for our community,” she said. “This medal is great recognition for her commitment and drive. We hope that her contribution to the Canyon team will increase her chances of success as she strives to make the U20 Canadian National Team next fall.”

Kuromi credits Grand Forks’ growing success in the sport to the culture that has developed around it, along with volunteers, coaches and community support.

“We have a group of people who love to play ultimate and who have a great time together,” she said. “I think that our success comes from the culture and community that we are creating and the opportunities that we provide for athletes from an early age.”

She said volunteers with Boundary Disc Sports, Grand Forks Ultimate and GFSS Ultimate work to keep the sport accessible and affordable year-round, while community partners have helped reduce travel costs for athletes competing outside the Boundary.

For a community the size of Grand Forks, Kuromi said the growing number of athletes reaching provincial, national and international competition shows what a small program can accomplish.

“This is the next level of success for athletes in Grand Forks,” she said.