Saskatoon is the site of the 11th annual Aboriginal Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.
Officials are expecting over 550 athletes to take part in the action.
“That’s quite a bit more than we have had in any previous years, so that’s pretty exciting,” said Jordyn Burnouf, who is a board member with Saskatchewan Aboriginal Track and Field.
Athletes from the age of 10 and up will be going for gold in the Bridge City. Long jump, triple jump and sprint races are just some of the events taking place.
“Our main focus, when this whole thing was created, it was to increase participation from a group that we thought wasn’t necessarily included or participating in mainstream sport – in track and field,” said Burnouf.
“So, we wanted to kind of break down some of those barriers. Over the years, we’ve done developmental clinics, we’ve taught the basics. We’ve trained coaches, we’ve trained officials. We’re trying to make it as accessible and easy for people to come out and compete.”
The action begins on Friday and comes to a close Sunday at the Field House in Saskatoon.
(PHOTO: Competitors last year. Photo courtesy of Sask ATF, Facebook.)