jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Athletes in southern Alberta will have a chance to show their skills this summer.
The Southern Alberta Summer Games are returning for the first time since 2019 and will be held in Coaldale from July 3-6. The 23-event week is open to athletes aged five to 95 and welcomes athletes of all abilities.
Cypress County regional director Jonah Carlsson and Medicine Hat regional director Nick Wepruk enter their first-years helping organize the games and both are excited to help get southern Alberta’s athletes together again.
“Especially with it being the first time in four years, we really want to come back with a bang,” Carlsson said. “I’m really glad that I get to co-ordinate that and we get to bring people out and everybody gets to compete. It’s going to be really awesome.”
Both are looking forward to seeing the flag football action as well as soccer and the three-on-three basketball.
“It’s for anybody, you don’t have to be at a certain level to compete,” Wepruk said. “You can go and have fun, it can be a family thing. You can be a mom, dad, brother and sister all competing in different events all weekend.”
Registration is open until May 31 and can be done on the Games’ website, southernalbertasummergames.ca. Interested athletes can only apply to individual sports with the team-sports reserved for organized teams.
A list of events can be found on the Games’ website.
The four-day competition involves more beyond sport than it has in the past, Wepruk says, with entertainment, free activities and barbecues.
“We do some opening ceremonies, there’s a DJ one of the nights, they’re going to have a concert held at Stafford Lake with a couple of bands out there and it sounds like it should be a pretty good time,” Wepruk said. “They have a pro sport panel on the Thursday and then some closing ceremonies and a few various other events during the weekend.
“It’s the most they’ve done outside of the event itself, which is pretty cool.”
Anyone with questions regarding the event or registering can reach out to Wepruk (nicwep@medicinehat.ca) or Carlsson (jonah.carlsson@cypress.ab.ca) for more information.
Both will be in attendance during the Summer Games and are looking forward to representing Medicine Hat and Cypress County and tracking all the local athletes.
“It’s a something I take pretty seriously,” Carlsson said. “Not only because of the competition, but also just to provide a good experience for everybody. I know everybody will have lots of fun, but it’s really rewarding.”
