Cancelled every year since 2019, Track and Field tries again

The territorial track and field championship is returning to Hay River over June 5-7 after a four-year hiatus.

The event hasn’t been held in the town since 2019. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 health restrictions, by a flood in 2022, and finally by a wildfire in 2023.

Dian Papineau-Magill, the volunteer coordinator for the event, said while the last few years have been “pretty grim,” people are starting to get excited about the major sporting event coming back to Hay River.

“There’s a lot of excitement from both within the community and from the smaller communities around us,” she told Cabin Radio, saying energy levels in Hay River will start ramping up on Tuesday, June 4 ahead of the athletes’ arrival, and increase as the games kick off with an opening ceremony on the Wednesday evening.

“The local people here are – I don’t want to say happier – but they seem lighter, knowing that there’s something really positive coming,” she said.

“It’s a huge boon for the community in that, of course, they’re going to see a spike in business because those kids are here for two and a half days spending money on ice cream and whatever kids spend money on.

“It’s also a nice exposure for Hay River because a lot of people don’t get to travel here on a regular basis. And for some of these kids, especially the kids from farther north, this is their first trip ‘south.’ So it’s a big deal.”

Rebuidling excitement about track and field

Part of the challenge in bringing the event back after so long, she said, is that athletes won’t be as familiar with track and field.

“We have kids who haven’t done track and field since they were in Grade 2 and 3, so it’s not really on their radar the way soccer and hockey might be,” she said. 

There are also likely to be few to no current high school students who have competed in the event at the high school level, where territorial records are maintained. Typically, Papineau-Magill said, these are the athletes who are most excited because “they’re looking to come and seriously compete.”

Another challenge in building the event back up to its usual 800 to 1,000 athletes and coaches, she said, will be transportation costs. 

“We just sent a bunch of athletes from Hay River to Yellowknife for a soccer tournament, and it cost $10,000 to rent a bus, so transportation costs are going to be a really big deal for the smaller communities,” she explained.

In past years, students from every region of the NWT have headed to Hay River for track and field. Papineau-Magill is hopeful for a similar turnout despite increasing costs, saying so far organizers have had a good response from other communities.

Enthusiastic volunteers needed

At least 150 volunteers are needed to help pull off the event.

There’s a volunteer session on May 16 at 6:30pm in the Diamond Jenness Secondary School concourse, where Papineau-Magill will explain all of the roles. People can also reach her by email to sign up to help.

Tasks range from chopping fruit and vegetables for meals to helping with timing, judging, measuring and raking sand, or running errands. 

“They just need to come with a whole lot of enthusiasm,” said Papineau-Magill, adding there are lots of roles where no experience is needed.