For the third time in as many years, downtown Prince Albert was a hive of activity for Sports on Central.
The event saw Central Avenue blocked off from 10th Street up to River Street with the entire 100 block of 9th Street East blocked off to vehicle traffic with various sports set up including basketball hoops, fields for both soccer and flag football along with a street hockey arena set up in the Plaza 88 parking lot. Other various clubs had booths set up including speed skating, cricket and the Kistahpinanihk Paddling Club.
Scott Manson, one of the organizers for the event says he was pleased with the final turnout.
“It’s been amazing, participation is up. Today’s been a beautiful day weather-wise. The streets have been packed all day long. Kids are having a blast playing all the different sports we have here. There’s been lots of learning since that first year. It seemed like every time we met to talk we had to figure out every little detail that we had, because we’ve never seen this kind of thing before in our city. Now we’ve got it down to a bit more of an art it’s starting to feel like a very well-oiled machine with all the different moving parts working together. It was amazing to see all the community support behind this event.”
As part of the festivities three guest speakers dropped by to speak about their experiences in sport. Manson says Sports on Central wanted to highlight local athletes with tremendous achievements in sport.
“We look for people who are local, so from around this area and have different levels of success, different levels of experiences in sports. We got Norma Hansen from Special Olympics, Ali Diehl she has Paralympic records for swimming and Gage Grassick is a champion college basketball star right now. She’s been having just an amazing year. They all bring different experiences and different stories to tell.”
The day also featured an exhibition street hockey game between the Prince Albert Police Service and the Prince Albert Fire Department with live play-by-play commentary by Raider broadcaster Nick Nielsen alongside Tanner Svenson.
Besides the police and fire game, there were also members of Parkland Ambulance in attendance. While paramedics were on duty in case of emergency, they were also giving tours of the ambulances to members of the public.
Manson says it was great to see the support from Prince Albert’s first responders throughout the day.
“I think it’s just so critical because it’s showing them that these people of authority like one, they’re a big part of this community and they want to see it thrive. They engage with the kids so well and it’s just a great message for the kids of this city to see that their first responders are here for them. They’re here for an event that’s all for them, all for the kids and they want to make it a great day for them.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
