In one year, our community will welcome over 3,500 young athletes, coaches and officials, from around the province for the Maple Ridge 2020 BC Summer Games.
The Games are often the first large multi-sport event for young athletes who will represent their region of the province in one of the 18 sporting events that are part of the 2020 lineup. Some of these athletes will go on to compete in the Canada Games or the Olympics and we are proud that Maple Ridge has the honour to be part of their journey.
Athletes will be welcomed by a team of volunteers equal in size to the number of athletes. This is a huge event with many moving pieces, but we have the right team in place to deliver an amazing Games experience.
We will have dozens of people supporting our accommodation directorate, making sure area schools are ready to provide a comfortable and safe place for the athletes. They will be fed by a large food services team, which will make sure that athletes have healthy meals to fuel their competition and recovery needs.
Wrapped around these core necessities will be volunteers taking care of transportation, entertainment and protocol, security and medical services. The sports technical team will ensure that athletic events are run according to provincial regulations and that referees, timekeepers, stewards and all the necessary equipment are in place to confirm record-setting performances.
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Finally, there will be a large number of volunteers and community ambassadors at each of the venues to ensure our guests, athletes, coaches, families, sponsors, partners and spectators have a superb time over the four-day event.
I was one of those volunteers over 20 years ago when we last hosted the BC Summer Games. I can tell you firsthand that this is an incredible experience for the athletes we host and all of the people who will step up as volunteers.
There is also a tremendous legacy in our community in hosting these games.
First, it’s an opportunity for us to come together and show the province what an incredible community and natural setting we live in. It’s also a chance for us to make new connections here in our community and work together to support our province’s young athletes.
Lastly, it’s a chance to create a network of volunteers that will come together in the weeks, months and years after the BC Summer Games are over to organize community events, festivals, sports tournaments and be the next generation of leaders.
We’re one year out and so proud to be hosting the 2020 BC Summer Games. We hope you’ll join in and be part of community history.
Mike Morden, mayor
Maple Ridge
newsroom@mapleridgenews.com
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