Former Team Canada athlete leading charge for SASG track and field events

By Erika Mathieu
Sunny South News

With planning well underway for the upcoming Southern Alberta Southern Games (SASG), organizers are encouraging interested volunteers to come forward and lend their time to some of the amazing competitive events taking place in Coaldale from July 3-6, 2024.

Among the 20 official competitive events recently confirmed by the Town of Coaldale, the 2023 SASG will include Track and Field. Under this multi-sport banner, a number of events will take place spread over July 5 and July 6 and will feature the highest number of athletes out of all of the 20 competitive events.

Southern Alberta Summer Games Coordinator for Town of Coaldale, Mark McIntosh reiterated that volunteers play an integral role in the success of the games, and said multi-sport events such as track and field have higher volunteer requirements than other competitive events due to the high number of athlete participants. Based on data collected from recent SASG, the track and field events are expected to see upwards of 300 athletes and will require around 40-50 volunteers to support the track and field events..

Former Track and Field Team Canada Athlete and Coaldale native, Aaron Hernandez, is chairing the Track and Field events at the upcoming games and is also highlighting the need for volunteers in this category. Hernandez, who graduated from Kate Andrews High School in 2013, said events like the SASG can really play a role in the opportunities afforded to young athletes by getting them out into the competitive sphere.

“Track and field, and sport as a whole, have provided me so much over the years, but outside of the obvious health benefits and excitement that competition brings, it allowed me the opportunity to go to post-secondary and get a university education, which I consider my biggest achievement to date.”

Hernandez competed on the University of Lethbridge’s Pronghorns Track and Field team from 2013-2018. In his freshman year, he won gold in triple jump at the Canadian Inter-University Sport (CIS) Championships in 2014. He was also awarded the title of CIS Male Rookie of the Year for track and field for the 2013-2014 season. 

Hernandez added, “Athletics also afforded me the opportunity to travel, compete for Team Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games, and make lifelong friends.” Hernandez competed under the “Athletics” sport on Team Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games hosted in Toronto. “Athletics” is comprised of 48 athletics events which are each contested separately by men and women and can be divided into Track events, including sprints, long-distance races and hurdles, throwing events (including shot put, discus, hammer, javelin), jumping events (such as high jump, pole vault, long jump, and triple jump), combined events (decathlon for men and heptathlon for women) and various road events (such as marathon, 20km race walk, race walk mixed team).

Hernandez, who also competed in the 2005 SASG in Taber playing soccer for Coaldale, acknowledged the role that the Community of Coaldale played in his athletic career.

“Competing for Canada at the third-largest multi-sport games (behind Olympics and Asian Games) was an experience I’ll never forget, especially since it was hosted by Toronto, and the Canadian crowd was incredible. The Coaldale community was also so supportive during my time as an athlete, so I’m excited to be able to give back in anyway I can, and I see no more fitting way than helping put on a great meet this summer.”

The Track and Field events will take place at the Kate Andrews outdoor track on July 5 and 6. Competitors will compete in categories based on sex and age.

Hernandez said, “Multi-sport games such as the SASG play an important role of not only introducing athletes to competition, but allowing people of all ages to fall in love with a new sport or excel and participate in a sport they already enjoy. The SASG can be a stepping stone to larger multi-sport games, such as the Alberta Summer Games or Canada Summer Games, both of which I’ve had the pleasure of competing at. These games can be the seed for young athletes to fall in love with a sport, drive them to better themselves, and potentially be the catalyst for long, successful careers. Not only do these games foster healthy competition, but it also allows participants to step outside of their comfort zone and try something new, all while creating new friends, whether through competition or volunteering.”

McIntosh noted no experience is required to join the team of volunteers who will be tasked with making the games happen.

Volunteers interested in playing a role are encouraged to submit a volunteer form, which can be accessed by visiting https://www.southernalbertasummergames.ca/content/volunteers.

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