Mini Olympics kick off in Leader

By Joan Janzen

The Park Friends and Play Group in Leader created their own version of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Fun races and games were held at the park for kids 5-12 years of age on Thursday, and the younger ones had some fun on Tuesday morning. The kids showed up with water bottles, running shoes and lots of energy for the racing games inspired by the Olympics. The games included relays, ball throws, long run and running races. Each team created a name for themselves, as well as a sign that they carried around to each event.

Kids in Leader participated in a mini Olympics on Thursday, August 8th, as part of the Park Friends and Play group. Each team kept track of their score on a team sign, which they carried to each event. Photo (by Lacey Hutt)

The children’s program began in July and will continue until August 15th. Lacey Hutt works with the Leader Friendship Centre, a not-for-profit organization supporting the program.

“The program was created and run by myself, thanks to the Community Initiatives Fund grant,” she explained. The grant money comes from Sask Lotteries, which enables the program to be offered free of charge.

“We have approximately thirty kids a week from ages six months to 12 years. We also have Claire Andreas helping out with the older age group,” she said. The kids in that group meet weekly to play outdoor games and do art projects and drama activities. Following the activities, there’s story time and a snack. The younger group sings songs, listens to stories, plays games and enjoys snacks.

The Park Friends and Play Group also organized two larger events, which included a card party and a space camp at the library. Volunteers from the community came on board to help with those events.

“The community and visitors to Leader seem to be enjoying the summer park and play program, and it’s been a ton of fun planning and running the program,” Lacey said.