Baseball is one of the core sports included in the Southern Alberta Summer Games. (Photo 39733292 © Luckydoor | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Southern Alberta Summer Games will not be held in 2023

May 4, 2023 | 10:45 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Athletes in southern Alberta will have to continue to wait to show off their skills.

The Southern Alberta Recreation Association (SARA) has announced that the 2023 Southern Alberta Summer Games will not be held.

Chair Kara Brake said, “We recognize that these grass roots Games are important to our communities and residents and we are looking forward to working with our 2024 host to bring the Games back after a four year hiatus. We appreciate the communities that considered hosting in 2023 and look forward to their continued interest in future Games.”

Brake said that the event’s cancellation was due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She told LNN that communities have been having a difficult time finding volunteers, committee organizing members, and sponsors.

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“These Games are typically planned 1-2 years in advance,” explained Brake. “At that time COVID was still very much having a social and economic impact on our interested small communities, and we unfortunately were not able to secure a host.”

The SARA board is inviting communities to submit expressions of interest to host the 2025 and 2026 iterations of the Southern Alberta Summer Games.

The organization’s mission is to “promote the benefits of sport & recreation and facilitates related initiatives in Southern Alberta to help develop healthy and active individuals and communities.”

Any municipalities or regions who are interested in hosting the Games is asked to send an expression of interest to karba@medicinehat.ca by December 31, 2023.

List of sports featured in the Southern Alberta Summer Games. (Southern Alberta Recreation Association)

The last time that the Southern Alberta Summer Games was held was in 2019.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now