Rain failed to put a damper on the Play It Forward Community Showcase & Sports Day as around 250 people came out to play, learn about local sports, and connect with the organizations behind them.
The free event last weekend, organized by Northwest Territories Equitable Sports Access (NTESA), featured basketball and soccer tournaments, an obstacle course, face painting, a barbecue and a community showcase.
NTESA is a volunteer-led organization that describes itself as working to break down financial and accessibility barriers that can prevent people from participating in sports. Since its creation, NTESA says it has helped athletes cover registration fees and access equipment while partnering with local sports and community organizations to make recreation more inclusive.
As the rain began pouring at around 1:30pm on Saturday, children continued playing soccer and tackling the obstacle course while families gathered for food and activities.
“The kids are having so much fun,” said Daniela Ret, NTESA’s event outreach coordinator.
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“I was a little bit worried that people weren’t going to show up, but the Yellowknife community shows up for each other, and that’s what I love about Yellowknife.”
The event was an expanded version of a smaller showcase held by NTESA in March. That event focused mainly on bringing together organizations inside a gym, but community feedback encouraged organizers to make the summer event larger and more family-friendly.
For Bianca Romagnoli, NTESA’s president and founder, the showcase was “all about bringing the community together.”
“It’s about introducing the people of Yellowknife to other organizations who believe in the same mission that we do: to provide equitable access to sports for everyone,” Romagnoli said.
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Romagnoli said the showcase also aimed to highlight the range of recreational sports available in Yellowknife, while drawing attention to the need for greater support for grassroots sports.
She said greater investment in recreational sports is important because those programs provide the foundation for higher-level competition.
“Obviously the team sports and the big winter and summer games are really important, but those only exist because this low-level sport happens,” she said. “This quote-unquote recreational sport happens, and this is all volunteer.”
That is especially important in the North, where the cost of registration, equipment, travel and accessing facilities can prevent people from taking part in sports.
Romagnoli said funding for recreation and sports organizations can be difficult to secure, despite the role they play in bringing people together and giving children opportunities to participate.
“It starts here. It starts with recreation, it starts with sports,” she told Cabin Radio. “It’s really, really hard to put these things together, and that needs to change.”
Romagnoli said she grew up in southern Ontario, where access to coaches, transportation and school sports teams was something she largely took for granted. She hopes children in the North can have access to similar opportunities.
“I want every kid to have access to what I had access to growing up,” she said.
