Haley Park will welcome close to 100 Kootenay track and field athletes on Saturday as the annual Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field Meet takes to the starting blocks.
Last year’s event attracted over 70 athletes and this year Trail Track and Field Club coach Dan Horan expects even more.
“There will be hopefully more numbers than usual,” said Horan, whose own club saw about 20 athletes train this season.
“I got quite a few kids this year . . . and I expect to have the majority of them enter.”
Runners and jumpers from Revelstoke, Creston, Cranbrook, Invermere, Sparwood, and Fernie will go head-to-head against Greater Trail, Nelson, Slocan, and Castlegar athletes.
The meet starts at 10 a.m. with the opening ceremonies, followed by the running and jumping of over 100 events.
The B.C. Athletics sanctioned meet is open to any athlete ages 9 and up, divided into age categories of midget, juvenile, junior, senior, and master competitors.
Depending on age category, the event 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 B.C. Games.
This year all races are timed finals with the last event scheduled for around 5:30 p.m. so teams from the East Kootenay can make it home that night.
An entry fee of $10 per athlete is required if a member of B.C. Athletics, an additional $3 per entry if not a member.
Go to www.trailtrackclub.ca for more information or E-mail dhoran@telus.net to register.