Joined by elders, staff and community members, over 350 students from more than 18 schools formed 32 teams to play in the second annual School District 61 lahal tournament at Spectrum Community School, possibly one of the biggest events of its kind.

Played between two teams using two sets of 鈥渂ones,鈥� scoring sticks, and a king stick, the traditional Coast Salish game involves one team concealing sets of bones within their hands, while the other team tries to win scoring sticks by guessing the location of unstriped bones while the team that has the bones drums and sings in an attempt to distract the team that is guessing.

"Lahal is a game of chance. It's a very old game that's been played by many different communities across different nations," said Shelly Wilton, director of the Greater Victoria School District鈥檚 Indigenous education department, at the Wednesday, Feb. 12 event.

Wilton says the tournament is an opportunity for students to participate in the cultural exchange of reciprocity and excitement while also building cultural awareness and understanding.

She explained that they had representatives from different Indigenous communities from across Vancouver Island participate, sharing their knowledge regarding the rules of the game, and of the songs they're singing and the protocols around singing.

"Not only are those teachings coming to the teens and the youth and the students and our staff, but we're able to now celebrate that together, share that teaching together," she said.

Since the first tournament in 2024, Wilton says she has noticed the game gain popularity among the students, with some practising at home and putting their own teams together during lunch hours.

"It's garnered such interest across the south Island that now we're participating in other districts' lahal tournaments that they're starting from experiencing it with us. And so that's giving more opportunities for our youth to not only have it as a one-time event, but they're getting to visit other school communities as well and participate and they're coming into the school year excited, wanting to play and form their teams right away," she said.

Teams from Colquitz Middle School, Spectrum, Reynolds Secondary School, and SJ Burnside Education Centre took the top four spots, taking home prizes including custom-made hoodies, T-shirts, and toques as well as a handcrafted drum for the winning team to steward for the year until next year鈥檚 tournament.