About 250 people from Calgary’s sports community gathered at Spruce Meadows on Thursday for Sport Calgary’s 11th annual Celebration of Sport. The event brings together athletes, sports builders and grassroots organizations to recognize their successes and discuss ways to reduce barriers to participation. “This is an active city. We’re surrounded by the mountains. We’re surrounded by rivers. We have outdoor rinks on every corner,” said Sport Calgary President Candice Goudie. The event drew a who’s who of Calgary sports, including Canadian Football Hall of Famer Jon Cornish. “You get the leadership skills working on a team, compassion for one another. There’s so many skills that you build at a young enough age. They sort of just grow and compound,” Cornish said. Calgary has also built a reputation as a major sports-hosting city, with events including the Grey Cup and World Cup of Hockey. The city is also set to host the X Games next February, marking the event’s first time in Canada. “To have the X Games in Calgary for the first time in Canada is a massive thing for this city, and a testament to the people that really drive this sector forward and fight for it every day,” Goudie said. The event also highlighted the growth of grassroots sports, including youth flag football. Logan Ruzycki, director of Calgary Youth Flag Football, said partnerships with professional sports organizations are helping create more opportunities for young athletes. “You also are seeing it at those kind of levels, places to play for athletes that would go watch the game but may not be able to have the same opportunity to play somewhere,” Ruzycki said. He said the Calgary Stampeders are partnering with flag football and other youth sports to help create opportunities for people of all genders and backgrounds. As Calgary’s population grows, organizations such as the Football Hockey Link Society are also working to address affordability and access for newcomers. “We’re able to, on this level, do the education pieces, do the research, do what needs to be done to get families’ voices out there. What are the concerns and barriers?” said co-founder Krista Teldorf. For Sport Calgary, the focus is not only on celebrating the city’s sporting history, but also on preparing for what’s ahead. “We have a legacy here that we need to maintain,” Goudie said. “When it comes to infrastructure, we’re working on having that here in Calgary to be a leader in the space.”
