Western Canada Summer Games in full swing

Some of Western Canada’s best athletes are continuing to vie for spots on the podium in Swift Current.

The Western Canada Summer Games are fully in swing, with Phase 1 of the event wrapping up Tuesday. The Games began Friday.

More than 1,700 athletes, coaches, officials and mission staff from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut are taking part in the 10-day competition. The athletes are anywhere from 13 to 20 years old. The event also features Special Olympics and Paralympic events.

Co-chair Melissa Shaw said some of the athletes competing at the Games could be the next ones to wear the maple leaf on the international stage.

“The way the sport model is developed, they move through the different progressions of sport,” Shaw said on The Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

“From the Western Canada Games, their next goal would be the Canada Games and from there would be the Pan-Am Games and Olympics. We’re seeing the future Olympians come through Swift Current right now and it’s exciting.”

Kaylyn Kyle, who won a 2012 Olympic bronze medal in women’s soccer, is a former participant in the Western Canada Summer Games.

The first Games were held in 1975, with Regina being the original host. Since then, the event has been held every four years across Western Canada.

This is the fifth time Saskatchewan has played host to the Games; the last time was in 1999 in Prince Albert.

Weather has caused a bit of a hurdle for the events due to rain.

“The rain held us up a little bit,” co-chair Mark Benesh told Morgan. “It delayed and cancelled some softball games and the mountain bike course but everything else is on pace.

“It has been a great experience for everyone.”

The City of Swift Current is also gaining some benefits from hosting the Games. A new set of volleyball courts and a mountain bike course had to be constructed for the Games. New sports equipment was also brought in.

Athletes compete in 16 sports (athletics, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, canoe/kayak, cycling, diving, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, triathlon, volleyball and wrestling).

According to the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games scoreboard, Saskatchewan was in second place in the medal count behind Alberta as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Games run until Aug. 18.