A massive track-and-field meet is being held at the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Panteluk Athletic Field and Chamney Family Running Track on May 12 to celebrate the grand opening of the facility.
Dana Skjonsby, co-local athletics representative for the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games, said 19 schools from Estevan and area will be participating in the meet. She said 376 Grade 6 to Grade 9 students are going to be competing in events such as high jump, shot put and many others.
“It's a fun meet,” said Skjonsby. “It's to introduce them to discuss and things that they're not really exposed to or maybe not had the opportunity to be exposed to. Get them interested, start them young and when they get to (ECS) they have a little bit of experience.”
These students will be led onto the track, which will be the venue for the athletics programme of the Saskatchewan Summer Games from July 24 to July 27, by the ECS marching band. The ribbon cutting for the facility will then feature local mascots running through an obstacle course and the winner ripping apart the tape.
Jacqueline Chamney, co-local athletics representative for the Games, said the meet will act as a trial run for the Games, which will have approximately 300 male and female athletes competing for medals against their peers from across the province. The athletics programme at the Games will involve competitions in long jump, shot put, pentathlon (consisting of a 100-metre race, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800-m race), pole vault, hammer throw, javelin, high jump, discuss, triple jump, hurdles, 4x100-m relay race, sprint medley relay race, 100-m race, 200-m race, 400-m race, 800-m race, 1,500-m race and 3,000-m race.
Chamney said participating athletes must be members of Saskatchewan Athletics and are chosen based on their performances at Saskatchewan Athletics meets and also high school provincial meets. She said kids can sign for for Saskatchewan Athletics by joining the Legion Track Club in Estevan.
Skjonsby said they are looking for volunteers for both the May 12 meet and for the Games. She said people can sign up for the upcoming meet by contacting local schools, while volunteer registration for the Games is done through an online sign-up sheet on the Saskatchewan Summer Games website.
“We need people for raking the sand pits all the way to someone handling the equipment during the Games and people standing at the high jump and putting the bar on,” said Chamney. “There is quite a few things that need to be done.”
