Try a new sport for free Saturday

The City of Sault Ste. Marie will be holding a free Try a Sport Day for community members of all ages at several city-run athletic facilities Saturday, June 4.

The City is emphasizing these are not formal tryouts for any sport, but are ‘fun first events’ designed to keep people physically active.  

Try a Sport Day will actually start off at 6 p.m. Friday, June 3 for those who want to try out football at Rocky DiPietro Field, and lasts until 8 p.m.

Throughout Saturday, June 4, the public may try out:

• Pickleball, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Elliot Sports Complex
• Soccer, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tom Tipton Field
• Disc Golf, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Penhorwood Park
• Tennis, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., North Street Courts
• Ultimate Frisbee, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Rosedale Park
• Baseball, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., North Street Field
• Volleyball, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Waterfront Centre
• Waterfront Adventure, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Waterfront Centre (must be at least 14 years of age)

“It’s the first time we’ve done this event. We’re doing it as part of the ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge,” said Jari Pihelgas, City recreation supervisor speaking to SooToday.  

The ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge runs from June 1 to June 30, cash prizes available to participating communities with the most active populace.

“This is an event we thought we could put on for a twofold reason,” Pihelgas said.

“One, it gets people moving a little bit more and two, it also gets people more exposed to different types of sports. There are a couple of unique sports that we’re promoting such as disc golf and pickleball along with our more traditional sports like baseball and soccer.”

Local sports league members and City staff will be on hand to teach.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a problem in the community with physical fitness but we’re just always trying to promote new activities and new things for people to do in the community,” Pihelgas said.

Pickleball, for example, has grown in popularity among older people - but some in their 20s and 30s have shown interest as well - over the past few years.

Similar to tennis, the strokes are the same, such as forehand and backhand. It is played with what appears to be a large ping pong paddle, the ball is the same size as a tennis ball, the court 42 feet long like a badminton court.

The sport is generally for doubles - men’s, ladies and mixed - but also has single players, with both age categories and open categories.

It has been light-heartedly referred to by pickleball players as a scaled down version of tennis, or ping pong on steroids.

“Pickleball is very popular with older adults. Sports like disc golf and ultimate frisbee are getting more popular with the younger crowd so we want to promote those sports as well,” Pihelgas said.

“We’re just trying to get the whole community active.”

The Waterfront Adventure, held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, is in partnership with Sault College at its Waterfront Centre. 

Unlike the other Try a Sport Day activities, there is a $7.50 per hour fee to rent paddle boards, kayaks and canoes.

Beach volleyball courts are also available at the Sault College Waterfront Centre.

“People can just show up for all the different sports, they don’t have to pre-register. All we ask is that they complete a waiver and those under 18 have an adult complete a waiver for them. There’s been lots of positive feedback about Try a Sport Day on Facebook, lots of shares on Facebook as well. We’ve had lots of phone calls and emails asking about it,” Pihelgas said.

Pihelgas said the City is well equipped with recreational facilities and that such an event is welcome after the pandemic lockdowns. 

“It’s definitely nice to be able to program these kinds of events again. We're back to regular usage of all our outdoor athletic fields.”