Sometimes a participation ribbon is as good as gold.
All of Nanaimo has a chance to participate and be a part of a major sports spectacle and community event, the B.C. Summer Games, in just over a month’s time. The torch was lit two months ago and with the July 17 opening ceremonies drawing ever closer, preparations are ramping up. The need for volunteers is becoming more pressing.
The Games are comprised of 19 different sports, contested over four days at Nanaimo’s parks, rec centres and schools, and on Long Lake, Nanaimo River and Newcastle Channel. Thousands of athletes and parents, plus family members, fans, coaches and officials will be descending on the Harbour City. They’ll come for the sport, but the competitions don’t take place in a vacuum – there will be much more to the Games experience than wins and losses on the field of play.
Nanaimo happens to a beautiful place in mid-July and we trust the tourists in town that week will be duly impressed. But we don’t have to let our fair city speak for itself – we can speak for it, by being ambassadors, well-wishers and fans, and especially by being volunteers.
We are the host city and part of being a good host is ensuring the well-being, safety and comfort of our guests. There are volunteer opportunities to work at the athlete dormitories, for example, or to handle security, or to do umpteen other different duties.
The Games are not only a showcase for the best athletes; in many ways, the Games represent sport at its best, purest form. These kids are competitive, certainly, but also sportsmanlike and exuberant and at a point in their youth when dreams are indomitable.
We should think big, too. There’s no reason, today, why Nanaimo can’t put on, in five weeks’ time, the best B.C. Summer Games. Any and all of us can offer something, and participate, and help bear the torch. Let’s hold it high.