Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again, from June 5th to June 7th, Hay River hosted the Territorial Track and Field Championships. It was an exciting time again, starting with the opening ceremonies. Some schools who had never participated before were there, proudly parading into the arena under the banner of their schools. Appropriately, the previous chair and huge supporter of the championships, Mr. Guy Turvey, and his granddaughter brought in the torch and lit the flame. Over 1,000 athletes participated, accompanied by many coaches, parents and volunteers.
The local host committee of volunteers again did an outstanding job of making the logistics of preparing the grounds, coordinating the events, feeding the athletes and spectators, recording the results and much more look simple, but we know how much effort goes on in advance and we thank them for that.
Longstanding records were broken. Some folks had a slightly extended stay in Hay River due to ice stopping the Merv Hardie's operation for a few days, but we hope that they enjoyed that stay in Hay River and had a good time anyway. The cool breeze off Great Slave Lake presented some challenges to staying warm, but on the good side, we had no mosquitoes and no heat stroke.
The mayor of Hay River, Duncan McNeill, was on hand helping out with the activities and watching the students do the high jump. He momentarily forgot himself and tried to jump a chain link fence and unfortunately injured himself. I cannot give you any more detail than that, but we hope he has recovered.
I would also like to thank Minister Steen for offering the opportunity for other Members of this Legislature to attend, although this year, schedules did not permit MLAs to attend this territorial event. However, if the Minister allows, we will take a rain check on this generous support for next year's championships.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to again say congratulations to all the athletes and the organizing committee in Hay River, and happy birthday, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.