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By Justine Kelsie

Alberta Summer Games well-attended: Event Chair

Jul 23, 2018 | 3:43 PM

Everyone involved in the 2018 Alberta Summer Games didn’t let record-breaking rainfall ruin the event.

Although final numbers haven’t been tallied, Games Chair Lionel Robins says they had more fans in the stands than they thought they would.

“There were also instances where we anticipated smaller crowds for certain games like a Zone 1 versus Zone 2 which are the two zones farthest away from our zones. We thought there was not going to be many parents because those zones are 10 to 12 hours away. The attendance for those games was phenomenal like double and triple of what we anticipated. We were rushing for extra volunteers and chairs,” said Robins.

The popularity of the ASG merchandise became apparent when the organizers had to make an emergency order over the weekend. Robins credits the quality of the clothing and logo design to the reason it was flying off the shelves.

“We were the first Summer Games to have an online store before the games opened. Usually, they wait until the games are on. We interviewed some kids in 2016 in Leduc that said if they had a wish, they would have liked to buy gear to wear to the opening ceremonies.”

The organizers also had a mobile store that was going to each venue to sell merchandise.

Even with the wet weekend, the more than 2,800 athletes were able to complete all the games for their sport, according to Robins.

“The City, County, and Town of Wembley, I say this kind of cheekily, they gave us permission to wreck the fields,” said Robins.

“They said rain, shine or whatever, go run your event. Grass can be fixed, and holes can be fixed. That is what we will be doing for the next few weeks. We did a pretty good number on a few fields and we are all going to dig in to get them back to the way they should be.”

Robins says, if he could go back, he would have made the minimum number of volunteers that were needed a little higher.

“We got to the minimum number at the last minute as our town is famous for. We certainly didn’t have extra (volunteers),” he said.

Organizers began planning the 2018 event around three years ago. The closing ceremonies wrapped up the four-day event on July 22.  

by Justine Kelsie