The 13th annual West Kootenay Canadian Legion Track Meet will fire out of the starting blocks on Saturday at Haley Park with athletes from across the Kootenays and beyond descending on Trail for a full day of competition.
Over 100 athletes will participate in the event that will also act as a Zone 1 qualifier for the B.C. Summer Games in Nanaimo in July.
“I’ve got entries coming from Invermere, Fernie, Cranbrook, Creston, Revelstoke, and a fellow from Nelson who started up a track club, he sent me 15 or 17 entries. I even got an entry from Salmon Arm,” said organizer and Trail Track Club coach Dan Horan.
The event is for athletes ages nine and up, and depending on age category, the meet includes track standards from the 60 and 100-metre sprints and hurdles to the 3,000-metre run as well as the popular field competitions: the long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw with the top three winners qualifying for the Games.
The Trail, Rossland, and Castlegar Legions make generous contributions to the meet, and volunteers are a vital cog in the Track Meet’s wheel.
“We had lots of support from the local Legion branches, so without them this meet wouldn’t go,” said the Warfield resident.
The Legion Track Meet starts with opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. where the Legion band and its members march out with their colours and flags waving, leading the athletes onto the track.