By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Local club looking to bring Lethbridge residents together

Sep 10, 2017 | 9:10 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Meeting new people and developing a social circle can be difficult at the best of times, let alone when you’re moving to a new community.

That’s why Patrick McCullagh founded the Lethbridge Sports and Social Club, launching the new organization in January of this year.

“It was kind of to fulfill a need that I felt, and that I was looking for when I moved to Lethbridge about three years ago, and that is to provide recreational sports and social activities for adults,” McCullagh explained. “They exist across the country, and Lethbridge didn’t really have a service that I was looking for, so I decided to do it myself.”

It did take some time to get the club going and build a solid base of members, McCullagh says they took off in June, with the momentum carrying into July and August. As of now, he says they have over 350 members, involved in a variety of activities.

“We offer organized recreational sports for adults of all abilities, so really entry level sports, non-competitive, just get out and have some fun. And then we organize social activities in town, whether it’s trivia night, going to an art gallery, dinner out, going to a movie, playing capture the flag in the park,” said McCullagh.

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He also noted that they have a sub-group called Lethbridge Expeditions, which involves hikes and day trips out of town, and another called Lethbridge Pathfinders, which has members come together for casual walks around Lethbridge parks.

“It’s really been astounding, you know, when I created it I was looking to do just activities, but I didn’t realize the social impact it would have on a lot of people,” stated McCullagh.

“We have a lot of our members who have met each other in one of our activities, and then have formed friendships outside of the club,” he continued. “So, when they go to the sports leagues, they sometimes go out for wings and beer afterwards at the end of the night, or they’re planning camping trips or other activities outside of the club as well.”

While club events are for members, McCullagh says they do allow tryouts, giving newcomers a chance to come out to one of their events or leagues and see if it’s right for them.

There are fees to join, however, the club qualifies for the Recreation and Culture Fee Assistance program with the City of Lethbridge, which prevents financial limitations from becoming a barrier for anyone interested.

“It’s really filling a need for the city, but also that instinctual human nature of wanting to connect with people… social media’s a great tool, but it lacks kind of the face-to-face interaction, and I think that’s really important to a lot of people.

“We’re kind of connecting people together again.”