The City of Airdrie is looking for a few good....make that great....athletes to honour in 2019 as Elite Athletes.

Airdrie already has eight high calibre athletes who've been inducted on the Elite Athletes Wall at Genesis Place.  They include 2018 inductees, swimmer  Danica MacDonald and dancer Piper Fitgerald. 

Airdrie City Councillor Darrell Belyk is also on the wall.  Belyk has competed for years in the sport of arm wrestling and has won numerous National and World titles.

Kim Harris, Community Developer of Civic Partnerships with the city says they're looking for nominations of athletes who are at the top of their game.

"What that means is, we're looking for athletes who have medalled in national or international sanctioned sports.  For example, some of the athletes that we have currently, out of the eight of them we have an Olympian, we have athletes that have been on Team Canada that have won World Cups.  So that's the standard that we're looking for."

While Harris says the athletes can be any age, they're hoping to find athletes that are approaching the end of their careers before they're recognized on the wall.  "Why we do that," explains Harris, "is so we can get the best of what they've done."

Harris says the rules for honouring the athletes have recently changed.  Where once nominations were accepted early in a year, now nominations are open throughout the year.  Once the city has enough elite athletes nominated who meet the criteria, they'll work with that athlete to determine a time of the year that's suitable for them to have the ceremony at Genesis Place.

The criteria for nomination include:

  •  Have been a resident of Airdrie (as defined by the school attendance boundaries) for a minimum of three years and have made significant community contributions.
  • Have obtained an exceptional level of athletic achievement at a sanctioned national or international competition, or set national or international records, or achieved national or international titles while competing.
  • Team nominations require a minimum of 50 percent of its members to be Airdrie residents.

Go to www.airdrie.ca and search Elite Athletes.  

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