It’s coming to Maple Ridge and the majority of the sporting events will be held in the community, even though all the details aren’t nailed down just yet.
The Maple Ridge 2020 BC Summer Games is one of the most anticipated events of next year, not just for the athletes, but also for the community that welcomes them.
Alison Noble, president and CEO of the BC Games Society, notes that the sports are confirmed, as are a number of the venues, but some are still to be finalized for the July 2020 BC Summer Games.
READ ALSO: Countdown starts to Maple Ridge 2020 BC Summer Games.
“We’re not at a stage to give too much detail,” she says. “The opening ceremony and the participants arrive on Thursday, which is July 23, 2020. The 24th and 25th are competition days, and then on the Sunday, competition wraps up around noon and the closing ceremony will happen shortly thereafter and participants will leave.”
There are 18 sports in the BC Summer Games and here’s where they are currently set to be held:
• artistic swimming at Maple Ridge Leisure Centre;
• athletics and Special Olympics athletics at Maple Ridge Secondary and Merkley Park;
• baseball at Larry Walker Field and Hammond Stadium;
• basketball at Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, Westview secondary, Samuel Roberts Technical Secondary and the yet-to-be-opened c’usqunela elementary;
• canoe/kayak events at Whonnock Lake (for the sprint, the slalom venue is still to be determined);
• equestrian and equestrian-para at the Maple Ridge Equi Sport Centre;
• golf at Meadow Gardens Golf Club;
• lacrosse – box at Planet Ice Maple Ridge (and another venue to be determined), while field lacrosse is at Arthur Peake (warm-up at Thomas Haney secondary, Field No. 4);
• rowing to be determined;
• rugby, girls at Garibaldi secondary;
• sailing at Rocky Point Sailing Association (Port Moody);
• soccer at Samuel Roberts Technical secondary (Rotary Sport Field), Maple Ridge secondary/Merkley Park (Karina LeBlanc Field) and Thomas Haney secondary (Telosky);
• softball at Albion Sports Complex;
• swimming, swimming-para and swimming-Special Olympics at Maple Ridge Leisure Centre;
• towed water sports at Albert Dyck Park in Abbotsford;
• triathlon at Whonnock Lake;
• volleyball, beach events to be determined, indoor volleyball at Thomas Haney and Garibaldi secondary schools;
• wrestling at Maple Ridge secondary.
“It’s a pretty big endeavour with 18 sports happening at the same time, so you need a critical mass to manage that. For the most part, competition happens, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for all sports,” Noble said.
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