Pro-Olympic group hitting Calgary post-secondary campuses
Article content
A pro-Olympic group of Calgarians advocating for a Yes vote for the 2026 Olympic bid will be coming soon to a post-secondary campus near you.
Jason Ribeiro, community organizer with the group, said they will be visiting the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and SAIT campuses in the next week and a half.
“By serving on a number of different number of committees and groups in post-secondary institutions, I recognize how important it is for (students) to be engaged,” he said.
Ribeiro said the idea to head to school campuses came from a realization the group had a great opportunity to connect with those who would be affected by the Olympics the most.
“It’s important that we meaningfully engage them,” said Ribeiro, adding long track speed skater Brooklyn McDougall helped put the events together.
“Given the Olympic context and that it will be in eight years from now, it makes it even more important that current students are engaged because this will be the job force and workforce they enter into.”
Students will have a chance to meet past, present and future Olympic athletes who will be on hand such as luge athlete Alex Gough, modern pentathlon athlete Joshua Riker-Fox and long track speed skater Gilmore Junio, among others.
The tour will stop at SAIT on Sept. 5 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Irene Lewis Atrium, before heading to the University of Calgary Campus on the Sept. 6 between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. U of C students can find them set up in the green space between Taylor Family Digital Library and the MacEwan Student Centre.
It will wrap up with a stop at Mount Royal University on Sept. 11 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Main St. and East Gate Lawn.
The events come two months before the city is expected to host a public vote this November on whether to launch an Olympic bid.
“I’m a big believer of meaningful engagement, it’s a little bit inauthentic to show up to people just before they vote,” Ribeiro said of the timing of the tour.
“As a young person, as a graduate student myself, I have been on the receiving end of public officials or different groups who have come for support in the last hour — so this is really about bringing them along in a discussion.”
City council could still vote in September against pursuing a bid, which would result in a cancellation of the plebiscite.
On Twitter: @zjlaing
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.