“The courage to begin” – Abilities track and field meet Friday at Oshawa’s Civic Fields
Published June 13, 2022 at 3:09 pm
For elite athletes, it requires ability and lots of training to win. With those born with less natural skills, the real courage is just getting to the starting line.
Those words, in fact, form part of the mantra each athlete at Friday’s Abilities Track and Field Meet at the Civic Complex in Oshawa will recite before the events even begin: “More powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin.”
Originally a play day for elementary school students in the Durham District School Board, the Abilities track meet is now modelled after the Durham Elementary Athletic Associate (DEAA) Track and Field event with student athletes competing in 20m, 50m, 100m, and 200m distance runs, shot put, softball throw, and long and high jump.
The Durham District School Board (DDSB) Abilities Track and Field Meet is now an annual event celebrating equity, inclusion, and athletic success for students of all abilities.
Each athlete must train and send in their times for the running events and distances for the field events. The students are then split up by ability as well as age, to ensure they are competing at the appropriate level to be successful.
At the last pre-Covid event in 2019, more than 850 student athletes from 83 DDSB elementary and secondary schools competed in the day-long meet at Oshawa Civic Field.
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This year’s event will again be at the Civic Recreation Complex from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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