Airdrie finally has its first official track and field club.
The Airdrie Aces Athletic Club, started by Jodie Matsuba-Szucs and Kathy Schulze, members of the Airdrie Mayor’s Run Society and coordinators of May’s Hershey’s track meet, made its official introduction to City council earlier this month.
Club officials are now in the process of properly registering with Athletics Alberta, in order to receive recognition and the ability to apply for grants.
“Airdrie is so big now, so it’s time we have a team – we definitely have the talent,” said Matsuba-Szucs, who will serve as president of the new club.
The formation of the Aces has been in the works for several years, according to Matsuba-Szucs, but it was the inaugural Hershey’s meet, held May 12 at Genesis Place, that really signaled the opportunity for the new club.
“It was perfect timing after hosting our first tournament, which was very successful,” she said. “We had a such a huge turnout and that’s what kick-started this whole thing.”
The Aces, which is actively attempting to recruit more athletes, assistant coaches and volunteers, will compete in both outdoor and indoor track and field seasons. The outdoor season will wrap this weekend before a two-month hiatus until the indoor season launches in late October.
The club will participate in at least 12 sanctioned events in Alberta, six for indoor and six or seven for outdoor, beginning in November. The indoor season will run until March and next year’s outdoor season will run from April until July.
Matsuba-Szucs is hoping the club, which will be coached by Jan Lips, will be fully operational by October and begin training for the indoor season the week after Thanksgiving.
“We already have 18 dedicated members training, but it would be nice to have at least 25, as we have a lot of fun,” she said. “It is time Airdrie had its own club that can turn out top notch athletics athletes. They aspire to one day be among those on the elite athlete wall here in Genesis Place, and dream about participating in big events like the Western Canada Summer Games, the Olympics and receive university scholarships.”
The utilization of Genesis Place for indoor training, where the Aces will occupy a few lanes on the track during non-peak hours, was a major contributing factor to the club’s creation.
“If we didn’t have an indoor facility for the winter, we’d have to quash the whole thing,” said Matsuba-Szucs. “Thankfully we had some great support.”
The Aces are looking to host a one-sport coach athletic focus course in August and have launched the website www.airdrieacesathletics.com for more information. The club will also have a demonstration at the upcoming annual Airdrie Fest, set for Sept. 10.
