Add another high profile event which will be coming to Langley.
The B.C. high school track and field championships, which have traditionally been held at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium, will instead be contested at Langley’s McLeod Athletic Park in both 2013 and 2014.
They were held at Swangard from 1975 to 1993, in Coquitlam from 1994 to 1999, and then back at Swangard from 2000 to 2012.
The two-day meet, which features thousands of competitors, will be held May 31 and June 1.
It is just one of many significant track and field events slated for MAP: the Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games run July 11 to 14, the Canadian Legion youth track and field championships are from Aug. 7 to 13,
The Legion championships will also be held at McLeod Park in 2014, as will the B.C. Seniors Games.
“Having invested over $1 million infrastructure improvements in the past five years to support track and field, the Township is pleased to add this significant event to our sport hosting calendar for 2013 and 2014,” said David Leavers, the director of the Township’s recreation, culture and parks division.
“There has been some discussion in recent years about moving the championships,” said Andrew Lenton, the track and field commissioner for B.C. School Sports.
Swangard Stadium has been the long-standing traditional location for the provincial championships, although they have been held in other locales as well.
A major reason for the switch is the condition of the two facilities, with Lenton admitting the track at Swangard was in poor condition.
By comparison, McLeod Park replaced the artificial track surface prior to the 2008 B.C. Summer Games and work is currently underway to replace the synthetic turf field. It will be completed sometime next month.
While both facilities are roughly the same size, the schedule of events will be easier to navigate at McLeod Park.
“There is more flexibility in scheduling because of a slightly different layout of the track as well,” Lenton said.
“(At McLeod), the javelin is outside the stadium, which allows us to run it concurrently with many track events,” he explained.
“Whereas in Swangard, the javelin runway cuts directly across the track and the infield is used as a throws area, so we can only run 100 or 200m sprints or hurdles while we run that (event).”
Lenton added that there is discussion about moving the championships around the province for future events.