LangleyAdvance
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Friday, December 31, 2010
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2010
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More than 2,400 young athletes from around the province gathered at McLeod Athletic Park to kick off the 2010 BC Summer Games in Langley Township. Premier Gordon Campbell (below) welcomed the competitors. MORE PHOTOS ONLINE
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The BC Summer Games brought thousands of young athletes to Langley for a tremendous weekend of camaraderie and competition.
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It drew more athletes than the 2010 Olympics, featured more sports, and brought young people from every corner of the province to Langley for three days. The BC Summer Games were one of the biggest events ever held in Langley. The story of the Summer Games goes back to 2005, when the Township put in its official bid to host the event in either 2008 or 2010. Langley presented a very different face to the sports community back then. There was no Langley Events Centre, nor was the project even on the radar screen. McLeod Athletic Park still didn’t
have its grandstands finished, and the rowing facility in Fort Langley was yet to be upgraded. Yet in April 2005, the province awarded Langley the Games. By early 2010, preparations were in full swing, the number of facilities had greatly increased, and volunteers were being gathered by the hundreds. More than 2,800 volunteers, mostly from the Langleys, signed up for the Games. While the BC Summer Games involve more sports and more athletes than the Winter Olympics, the budgets are not similar. Volunteers were needed for everything from security to meal preparation, from chaperoning athlete dances to driving buses. A series of major venues, including soccer fields, were built or upgraded. The focus of all this preparation was the athletes, said Langley Games president Michael JackStien. “We went out of our way to make it their Games,” he said. A total of 2,461 athletes along with coaches, arrived from six regions around B.C. For some of them, it was a short trip from Surrey, North Vancouver, or even from within Langley. Others arrived from the Peace River region, the North
Coast, Vancouver Island, or the Southern Interior. A giant kick off, with Premier Gordon Campbell in attendance, was held on July 22 at McLeod Athletic Park. Athletes from six geographical zones streamed in, wearing vibrant colours that would distinguish their teams. The athletes were up to 18 years old, with an average age of 14. While some were already accomplished specialists, preparing for the Olympics in a few years, others were enthusiastic newcomers. Training and teaching would form a large part of the weekend’s events, with coaches offering tips. The athletes threw themselves into their sports, whether kayaking, cycling, lacrosse, inline
hockey, beach volleyball, or track and field. The Games even boasted sailing events held in Surrey and water skiing in Abbotsford. Langley athletes took top honours for the Fraser Valley region in a number of spots. Georgia Ellenwood stood out in track and field, taking gold in high jump, long jump, 200 metre hurdles, and the 4 x 400m relay. Jacob Houlton took gold in high jump, the 300m dash, the 4 x 400m relay, and a silver in shotput. Janae Enns took home a gold in beach volleyball, James Hellner took a gold in the 1500m race walk, and diver Kailee Lingham took good in one- and three-metre events.
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