More than 3,000 young athletes were in action in Okotoks and Diamond Valley from July 20 to 23, as part of the 2023 Alberta Summer Games – and over 150 of them were from Rocky View County and its surrounding communities.
According to the Alberta Summer Games athlete database, the numerous RVC-and-area athletes competed at the biennial games in sports ranging from swimming, to lacrosse, basketball, soccer, track-and-field, BMX racing, football, rugby, softball, and more.
In terms of Rocky View County's nearby municipalities, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Chestermere were all well represented, with more than 50, 60, and 20 athletes in action from those communities, respectively.
The vast majority of Rocky View County’s cohort was competing for Zone 2 (Big Country), which extends as far west as Banff, as far east as Brooks, as far north as Olds, and as far south as Nanton, but does not include Calgary.
According to the Games' results database, Zone 2 finished third in the overall medal standings behind Zone 3 (Calgary) and Zone 6 (Edmonton). In total, the Big Country athletes recorded 35 gold, 47 silver, and 38 bronze medals across a variety of team and individual competitions.
Some of the local highlight-makers were the Zone 2 boys' U15 lacrosse team, which claimed gold in their tournament. The Zone 2 team included seven players from the Rockyview Rage U15A squad, including Sheldon Cairney of Springbank and Cayden Rollins and Ajay Hannigan of Langdon. According to reporting from the Okotoks Western Wheel, Landry Mitton from Airdrie scored the late tying goal and the overtime winner for Zone 2 to win lacrosse gold over Calgary.
Another gold-winning team that boasted plenty of Rocky View County representation was the Zone 2 U14 girls' soccer team. Local players on that team included Sophie Daley, Gabriela Navas, and Aleena Rafih. Zoe Buettner of Crossfield was also on the successful girls’ soccer team for Big Country, as were athletes from Airdrie and Cochrane.
Local athletes in individual sports also fared well in Okotoks. On the track, Irricana-area resident Addison Berry earned gold in the U18 boys’ 110-metre (m) hurdles, while Roenen Chase finished first in the U18 boys’ octathlon, albeit for Zone 3 (Calgary). Erik Solomon was another RVC track athlete who topped the podium in Okotoks, finishing first in the U18 boys’ javelin and third in the 4x100-m relay.
Katarina Gibbs was possibly one of Rocky View County’s busiest athletes in Okotoks, as she competed in seven swimming events. Her two podium performances included a silver medal in the 100-m individual medley and a bronze medal in the 200-m individual medley.
In southeast Rocky View County, Langdon was the municipality’s most represented hamlet, as 11 athletes from that community were listed on the games’ database. In addition to the two aforementioned lacrosse players, Langdon’s medalling cohort included Matthew Dawidowski on the tournament-winning Zone 7 boys’ football team, and Porsche Greik on the Zone 1 girls’ rugby team that won gold.
(Some team sports, such as football and rugby, operated on a draft system, which meant where an athlete was from didn’t dictate which zone they represented).
Another podium-placing Langdonite was Kayden Berry. Competing in BMX racing, he finished with a bronze medal in the time trials in the 12-year-old age group.
In the northeast corner of the county, one athlete from Beiseker was in action at the games. Jesse Tucker competed in four events in the U18 male track-and-field competition, including the 100-m sprint, 4x100-m relay, javelin throw, and long jump. His best placement was in the relay, in which his team came third.
Emma Ball was the sole participating athlete listed from Irricana. She finished with a gold, silver, and bronze in three of her swimming events at the Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games, which were held in tandem with the Alberta Summer Games.
Ian Thompson was the only athlete on the Games’ database from Bragg Creek. The mountain biker finished seventh in the U15 male sprint and eighth in the cross-country event.
Three athletes from Crossfield enjoyed participating in Okotoks. In addition to Buettner’s soccer exploits, Eryn Lamoureux and Ava Smith competed on Zone 2’s girls’ softball team, which finished second in their tournament.
Medalists from Chestermere included Hallie and Olivia Anderson, who were on the Zone 2 girls’ softball team; Riley and Stephanie Colvin, who were on the Zone 2 girls’ soccer team; Sarena Donohue, who was on the Zone 1 girls’ rugby team; Amos Dunstan, Bryant Johnson, Thather Jones, and Ron Toner on the Zone 7 boys’ championship-winning football team; track-and-field athlete Cash Dyer (U18 boys’ high jump); and Kherington Hodgetts, who earned silver in girls’ rugby for Zone 2.
Editor’s note: These results are pulled from the Alberta Summer Games’ official website and athlete database. For a comprehensive list of local competing athletes and their results, see Alberta Games Results (rampinteractive.com)
