Part of the Rivers West team. (Megan Obridgewitsch/Photo)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Summer Games

The Sporting Life: Sask Summer Games a mini Olympics for young athletes

Jul 24, 2024 | 4:57 PM

Amid the excitement of a summer event that happens once every four years, another Athletes’ Village is awash in competition, medals and of course talk of the Olympics – this year in Paris.

For 12-year-old Ryker Slabaida of North Battleford, her experience playing on the Rivers West U13 softball team at the Saskatchewan Summer Games was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I feel like I played really good this weekend and the experience was really, really fun and I met a lot of new friends,” she said.

Roughly 1,500 athletes, over 300 coaches, managers and 1,000 volunteers made their way to the sporting village in Lloydminster to compete in 14 different disciplines from swimming, softball and archery to basketball, soccer and special Olympics Bocce. The week-long event that mirrors its larger counterpart is broken up into two sections of competition to ensure the village could accommodate everyone comfortably.

“This is probably one of our bigger summer games that we’ve had for participation,” said Greg Perreaux, executive director, Saskatchewan Games Council of the 52-year mainstay.

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“It’s been a long-standing program and really the intention of it is to really give those young developing athletes the opportunity to participate in a multi-sport game.”

According to Jolyne Harrison, softball head coach, this is the first time that the games, which normally take place every four years, have been played since 2016.

“The last time it happened I guess these girls would’ve been four-years-old,” she said, noting this was the first time they had ever experienced anything like it.

“They didn’t know what to expect.”

Ryker Slabaida, 12, gets ready to throw during a game at the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Lloydminster. (Deb Slabaida/Photo)

The team was made up of 13 girls from communities like Biggar, Unity, Edam, Macklin and Maidestone, and Harrison said she and her coaches were proud of what they achieved after Softball just wrapped up with Rivers West placing fifth out of eight teams.

“Every other district had…an ‘A’ ball team in the area and our area does not,” she said noting Slabaida played ‘B’ provincials and the others played in ‘C’ provincials.

“They played against some ‘A’ ball players and they proved to themselves and to us that they deserved to be here and that they contended,” Harrison said.

Perreaux said Saskatchewan’s mini-Olympics gives the young athletes – ranging in age from 11 to 18 the chance to experience what might be in their future.

“If they have opportunity within their downtime between sports, they’re able to go watch some other sports and really just connect with other kids from all over the province,” he said.

That sporting life spirit about to take place on the world stage is among the highlights of conversation within the Lloydminster village.

“Historically, there must have been a reason why these games are on this cycle ‘cause in the winter and summer, it seems to really connect with the Olympics that are happening or are going to be coming up here right away,” Perreaux said.

The next stage of the games started Wednesday and includes athletics, beach volleyball and baseball before the event officially ends with closing ceremonies on Sunday, July 27.

Meanwhile, for Slabaida, the quality of sport at the games challenged everyone.

“It was really competitive ball, so it made it way more fun, and the experience was better from where I play regular season,” she said.

“So, just definitely different ball.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On : jls194864