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2010 Alberta Summer Games coming to the Peace region
Susan Thompson
for Express
Thousands of young athletes from across Alberta will be in the Peace next summer to compete in the 2010 Alberta Summer Games.
The Games will take place from July 19 to 25, 2010 and will feature fifteen different sports hosted at venues throughout the region. Three thousand amateur athletes aged twelve to seventeen will be participating, representing eight zones across the province.
Ten different Peace region municipalities are partnering to host the Games from Falher north to Manning.
Letitia Dempster, Games Manager, explains that the different municipalities will work together to run the Games in two shifts.
“The first shift will start on Monday the 19th, and Thursday will be the turnaround day. Half the kids will go home in the morning and the other half will come in the afternoon for the start of the second shift.”
Opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Peace River Agricultural Society grounds.
Manning will be hosting softball, Berwyn will be hosting rugby, and Grimshaw will be hosting baseball.
Peace River and Grimshaw will be handling all swimming and water polo events between their two pools.
“That’s a new thing for us, because I don’t think there’s a lot of water polo in the area,” Dempster says.
The Games will also be using the Peace River itself as one of the venues.
“One of the interesting sports is an actual kayak competition,” says Dempster.
“The athletes will be racing along a slalom course on the river. There is also kayak water polo going to be going on there.”
Other sports events at the Games will include everything from basketball to mountain biking.
Sports facilities around the region are already being enhanced in preparation for the event.
Falher will be hosting in-line hockey at the new arena, and Dempster says minor upgrades will be finished there. However, most of the upgrading will be done in and around the town of Peace River.
“They’ve expanded the track by two lanes at Glenmary School in Peace River,” says Dempster.
Construction on the lanes has already started, and so far work has been done on excavation and the gravel bed for the lanes.
Peace River High School and T.A. Norris Middle School will both be redoing their volleyball pits. Meanwhile, Northern Sunrise County will be building a brand new BMX track near the Peace River Agricultural Society grounds.
The Summer Games will also feature an ambitious cultural component.
“Typically the games have a small cultural component, but our cultural director Gloria Lovsin has some every big plans.”
There will be a festival at Riverfront Park in Peace River featuring a stage and performing arts, with tents to make it similar to a Fringe festival concept. Different cultural groups will be invited to perform dances and serve up a taste of their culture through food.
Performers will also be asked to participate in a talent show.
Details of cultural events and calls for performers will be organized through Facebook, most likely starting in the New Year.
“We’re going to try to go to schools and get samples of their art,” adds Dempster. “We will also see if we can have some tasteful graffiti done. In Peace River there are some places with distasteful graffiti, and we have permission to have the Games logo or a sport theme done in graffiti there for the duration of the games, as long as we cover it up afterward.”
Dempster says it’s a positive way to get youth involved. In order to be successful, organizers still need help from volunteers and sponsors.
“So far we’ve been looking for specific volunteers be involved between now and the games,” says Dempster. “In the New Year we’ll start securing people who can volunteer for the actual week of the games.”
Organizers are willing to work around the different time commitments volunteers may have.
Sponsors are also needed, and can give at any level. It only takes $100 to become a Friend of the Games. Companies can also get involved with a larger corporate sponsorship. With 8,000 spectators expected to flock to the events next summer, the Games should have a positive economic impact on many local businesses.
The 2010 Summer Games are also an opportunity to showcase the region.
“Our intention is to have these athletes come with their families, maybe stay a couple of extra days and make a summer vacation out of it, and get to know the area,” Dempster says.
More information about all aspects of the Games will be posted soon to a Facebook page, although it was not ready at press time.
To volunteer or to sponsor the games, contact Letitia Dempster at 624-1009 or letitia@2010albertasummergames.ca . You can also visit the official website at www.2010albertasummergames.ca .
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