Sports
Fond memories built at elementary track meet
Garrett Collier wears a satisfying smile as
he surveys the final few events Sunday at the 49th B.C. Elementary Schools
Track and Field Championships at Minoru Park.
It’s been an exhaustive, but rewarding,
weekend for Collier and his team of volunteers from the Richmond Kajakswhich has hosted the provincial event
annually since it was established by Olympians Doug and Diane Clement when they
founded the local athletics club in 1961.
The meet director, and head coach of the
Kajaks, Collier retains fond memories of competing himself as an aspiring
runner at Diefenbaker elementary.
“What I remember most vividly is realizing I
wasn’t going to be a 100-metre sprinter anymore,” he says. “Coming in third, I
understood I wasn’t the fastest guy, but it was a great learning process
because it taught me there was always going to be someone faster. (In turn)
that got me into throwing right away, and I still have friends to this day I
met at this meet.”
Collier didn’t just become a proficient
thrower, but an accomplished one who as a result of his success made numerous
provincial and junior teams and earned a scholarship to the University of
California-Berkeley. He later accepted a coaching position at the University of
Hawaii, where he coached many future champions, before returning to his
Richmond roots a few years ago.
Collier says the positive manner in which
schools, and track clubs, from around the province have embraced this event
through six decades is a testament to the dedicated volunteers. Year after
year, he explains, they work tirelessly to ensure the young participants have a
positive experience.
“For many of the kids this is their first
contact to track and field,” he says. “Guys I went to high school with are now
starting to have families of their own and putting their kids in the meet. That
helps to build the sport and keeps the vision of track and field going.”