Long-haul flights aside, it’s been a long road for Team Canada. Xavier Spano, Matthew Stasiw, Brayden Zhang, and Julian Bal have put in an incredible amount of work to make it onto Team Canada. The team was selected through the Canadian Geographic Challenge (Challenge), a national competition run by Can Geo Education which includes tests and independent fieldwork that rely on geographic analysis — all as a precursor to prepare students for what they will encounter at iGeo. Once Team Canada was chosen, the four students spent weeks preparing with their coaches in the lead up to the competition.

VanZant and his fellow Team Canada coach Janet Ruest are both Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) and have been volunteering their time and expertise for the past several years to train and guide incoming cohorts of young geographers. Under their leadership, Team Canada has performed brilliantly over the years, regularly bringing home medals and amazing stories. This year was no exception.

“I know it seems cheesy, but the moment when I saw the Canadian flag pop up with my name under it announcing the silver medalists was a dream come true for me,” says 18-year-old Xavier Spano, from Nelson High School in Burlington, Ont.

Although this was his first time competing on the international stage, Spano has a lot of national experience under his belt, having placed fourth in the 2019 Challenge before going on to become National Champion in 2020. He is not alone in his accomplishments either. Teammate Matthew Stasiw, from University of Toronto Schools, Ont., is no stranger to the pressures of competition, having competed in the 2022 iGeo.

The iGeo competition is a whirlwind of events, consisting of a written test, a multimedia test, and fieldwork, as well as team poster presentations and cultural exchanges. During the fieldwork exercise, Team Canada had the opportunity to visit the Tangkuban Perahu volcano and take in the stunning views of the Bandung Basin, which cradles the capital city of Indonesia’s West Java province.

“Although we were well prepared by Janet and Paul to answer the questions, walking up 40-degree inclines in the rainforest to view beautiful valleys and rock outcrops are things that are unique from any regular test we could experience in Canada,” says Zhang. “Experiencing the real Indonesia — both natural and societal — through these walks and analysis questions was quite the experience and really tested our ability to think geographically.”

The format of this in-person competition also allowed students to become immersed in the culture of their host nation. During the cultural activities, they learned how to play a traditional Indonesian musical instrument called the angklung, made from bamboo pipes. The musical notes from hundreds of instruments filled an entire auditorium with a vibrating chorus. Traditional Indonesian dance, food, and customs were on full display throughout the week of iGeo, which ran from August 8 to 14.

“The opportunity for Canada’s top geographers to attend iGeo is literally life-changing,” explains Ruest. “Meeting like-minded students from other countries forges friendships, encourages the sharing and coming together of ideas and thoughts, and leads to greater understandings. It also allows the Canadian team to make Canada better known to the world.”

Staying in the same location afforded students the opportunity to get to know their fellow competitors outside the stress and rigours of testing. Team Canada connected with peers from around the world who shared in their passion for geography, comparing stories about their school lives and finding common ground outside the world of academics.