Saskatoon indoor track meet draws international stars
Saskatoon indoor track meet draws international stars
Over 3,000 athletes ranging in age and skill level participated in Canada’s largest indoor invitational international track and field meet, the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games.
The action packed weekend began with the elementary school relay on Thursday, plus a visit from former participant and Olympic gold medalist, Donovan Bailey.
Bailey was named Canadian Athlete of the Meet in 1996.
“He’s been really good,” said Gil Wist, president of the organizing committee for the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games. “I think he’s inspired a lot of kids to get involved, stay with sport, set yourself some goals and work towards that.”
The competition on Saturday featuring a combination of local athletes rubbing shoulders with some top-level international competitors looking to get a head start on the summer outdoor season.
“This is my third indoor meet,” said Nick Andrews, who came from Australia and is training in Arizona currently. “I usually don’t train indoors in Australia because there’s no need for an indoor track. So it’s my third and last race indoors, but it does kick off that outdoor season that starts for me February 23rd.”
For one local athlete who competed at this event as a youngster, and is now at the invitational level, it was a rare opportunity to learn from one of Canada’s best ever.
“I actually got to talk to Olympian Donovan Bailey after my victory in the invitational,” said Kat Gilbert, member of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club. “He gave me some pointers and I’m just so glad that he was able to watch my race and just get some really good tips from a world class professional, so I’m thankful.”
Gilbert is graduating high school this year and has plans to attend Monmouth University next year to continue her academic and athletic career.
At a meet like this, she says it’s important to stay focused even with high profile competitors all around.
“I was fairly nervous at the beginning,” said Gilbert. “But then I just realized how much I love running, and the nerves kind of went away and it was good.”
While she admits she still has lots to learn, Gilbert has advice for athletes who are just starting out.
“You just need to be patient. You have to learn to race against yourself, and also be competitive at the same time.”
No matter the age of the competitor, everybody got something out of this special weekend, including new memories.
“There was one in particular that sticks out,” said Wist. “He got his shoe signed by Donovan Bailey. He turned around, jumped up in the air and said ‘Yeah! He signed my shoe!’ so just to see the enthusiasm has been great.
While it was a special weekend for the athletes, it was also a celebration of 100 years of the Knights of Columbus in Saskatchewan.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the vote later today on the Conservative motion calling for a new study into foreign interference will not be a confidence vote.
Gwyneth Paltrow's trial is set to begin on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
A Virginia teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student said it has changed her life and she has vivid memories and nightmares about that day.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has just released a new report and its alarming conclusions are a must-read for anyone who cares about what kind of planet we’re going to leave to our kids, writes former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.
March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day and to mark the occasion a Canadian organization launched a campaign showcasing older people living with the condition.
A new report that looks at the prevalence of marketing to children inside grocery stores and restaurants suggests regulation is needed to help reduce unhealthy food temptations.
Mixed reviews continue to roll in days after Experience Regina delivered new campaign slogans that lean into the double entendre of the capital city’s name.
Saskatchewan RCMP said themselves and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) arrested and charged 138 motorists around the province under the criminal code for impaired driving in January and February.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the vote later today on the Conservative motion calling for a new study into foreign interference will not be a confidence vote.
Students and community members will gather in protest outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, calling for the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald name from a northwest junior high school.
A Wheatland County sanctuary that cares for abandoned and surrendered farm animals faces an uncertain future after having a permit application to keep operating denied.
An Edmonton couple working to support first responders' mental health says the last few days have been very trying for local service members and their families.
A woman who lives across from the apartment where a 16-year-old shot and killed two Edmonton police constables has multiple bullet holes in her door, with a couple piercing her doorframe.
A member of the city of Ottawa's board of health is speaking out about body shaming after receiving a letter that said she shouldn't serve on the board because of her weight.
After a large fire spread from tents to a shuttered theatre on the city’s Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s fire chief told reporters she was “incredibly frustrated” that more isn’t being done to prevent daily fires breaking out in the area.
Vancouver council will soon vote on a policy that could slow development in the Broadway Plan, one of the most significant long-term projects underway in the city.
A 31-year-old neuroscientist is believed to be among the six people missing after a massive fire in Old Montreal last week. An Wu was staying at the heritage building on Place d'Youville to attend a conference, according to friends and family.
Rescuers have yet to recover any additional bodies from the wreck of a fire in Old Montreal last week. As of Tuesday morning, there were still six people missing. The body of one victim, a woman, was extracted on Sunday.
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard is scheduled to table the first budget of the Coalition Avenir Québec's second mandate this afternoon. Girard broke with tradition on Monday — instead of buying new shoes ahead of the budget, he announced a $5,000 donation to a Quebec City community centre.
Doctors, patients and advocates are uniting for a reminder to older British Columbians to request a free colon cancer screening test – as we mark National Colon Cancer Awareness month.
New Brunswick's finance minister is scheduled to table a provincial budget Tuesday as the government grapples with problems in health care and housing and the effects of a population surge.
Two staff members and a student -- who is also the suspect -- have been injured in a stabbing at a high school in Bedford, N.S., according to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE).
The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) is weighing in after two staff members and a student, who is also the suspect, were injured in a stabbing at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
Gwyneth Paltrow's trial is set to begin on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
Three misdemeanour charges were filed Monday against the son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.
About 10 people have been displaced and damage is estimated at $1-million after a fire in Aylmer on Monday. John Street in Aylmer, Ont. has reopened in both directions following a fire on Monday night.
An 81-year old property owner tells CTV News he’ll do the work himself without machinery, if that’s the method directed by city council. Three years after John McLeod demolished the historic barn on Halls Mill Road without a permit, a plan to remove the pile of wooden debris is taking shape.
The Old South Community Organization (OSCO) is expressing concern about city staff’s failure to consult with stakeholders before recommending that Thames Pool be decommissioned.
