Young athletes chase dreams in North American games

Largest contingent heads to Hershey

Courtney Zajac is one of 18 youths from Winnipeg ages nine to 14 who are heading to the 30th annual Hershey Track and Field Games in Hershey Pennsylvania from August 2 to 5.

Zajac is part of a four-person relay team that will be running the 100-metre relay.

The White Ridge resident has been running since Grade 2 and the opportunity to participate in the Hershey finals was a goal the 12-year-old had set her mind to.

“I really wanted to go to Hershey, so I worked really hard to make that happen. I want to compete against other athletes from all over North America,” she said.

You could say that being athletic runs in her family.

Both her parents are physical education teachers and last year Zajac and her parents drove down to Hershey to watch her sister compete in the games.

But this year will be different. Her sister will be driving down with her parents to cheer her on.

“I’m so psyched. I’m really looking forward to the race. My sister went last year and we drove down to see it and it really inspired me,” she said.

Zajac, who is entering Grade 7 at Henry G. Izatt Middle School, doesn’t limit herself in her athletic pursuits. She also participates in ringette, hockey and soccer.

Heading into the last week of training before the games, she said the team is ready to hit the track.

“I think we’ll do pretty good because we’ve all been training hard and are so excited. I’ve got nothing but confidence in my team, we’ve become really close friends,” she said.

For the past several years, the number of Manitoba athletes qualifying for the games has increased steadily.

In 2005 there were five who qualified, in 2006 there were 12 and this year that number has increased again.

“I think it’s the amount of kids who get involved in the program because of the promotion put into it,” said Diana Stevens, one of the team’s coaches.

According to Stevens, who is also the provincial co-ordinator for the Hershey program and a project manager at Athletics Canada, this year 14,250 athletes from Manitoba competed for the chance to enter the games.

There will be three girls’ and one boys’ team participating in relay events, one boy running the 200-metre race and one boy running the 1,600-metre race.

Hershey pays for the athletes’ air fare, accommodations and even throws in a Hershey Park pass, good for a tour of the famed candy factory.

Kevin Takatch, 10, of St. James finished first in the 200-metre in the provincial finals and plans to repeat that in Hershey, although he knows what he’s up against.

“Oh yeah, definitely nervous, he said.

“There’s going to be so many good runners there and it’ll be a hard competition. They’re from all over North America,” he said.

Like Zajac, Takatch’s sister got him interested in track and she even helps him train.

“I go about once or twice a week to a track near my house with my sister and do sets of 200 (metre)” he said adding that apart from being his biggest supporter, she enjoys running too.

And why the 200-metre?

“Because it’s not too long and it’s not too short,” he said with a smile.

More than 400,000 children participate in the games annually, with about 500 participating in the finals.

The ‘Winnipeg 18’ are representing Region 5, which includes the best athletes available from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North/South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.