Hometown Heroes: Celebrating the Special People who Drive our Local Sports Community
By City of Ottawa Sports Commissioner Mathieu Fleury
The Canadian Track and Field Championships finish line is returning to Ottawa soil.
As the Ottawa Sports Commissioner, I am happy to see Canada’s finest athletes return to our City to compete in the 2025 and 2026 editions at Terry Fox Athletic Park – where the 2017 and 2018 editions were held.
The Canadian Track and Field Championships serve as the national championship for under 20 (U20), Open and Para Athletics categories, and the 2025 edition will serve as Trials for the 2025 World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
The Ottawa Lions will serve as the host club and will work with Athletics Canada, to organize the events. The City of Ottawa and Ottawa Tourism will be there to assist and ensure the national sport event is a success.
An exciting aspect for all sports lovers, including myself, is the opportunity to volunteer, attend and help leading up to the events.
A few years ago as a City, we lost the bid to host the Canada Summer Games. The lessons from the debrief with the volunteer bid committee was clear. The City of Ottawa is missing a 50-metre host pool and a modern track and field facility which allows locals to train, compete and to host.
We are very fortunate in this instance that Athletics Canada is continuing to see the strong local volunteers in place with the Ottawa Lions.
Ottawa is home to a fantastic local club which calls the Terry Fox Athletic Facility home. When the event took place in 2017 and 2018, the stands were full, excited to catch a glimpse of some of our elite and world-class athletes.
It is also an opportunity to see the debut of a young athlete’s career and a chance to learn more about sporting events.
The opportunity for the City of Ottawa, with the help of local host partners such as Ottawa Tourism and Ottawa Lions to modernize the facility remains a unique opportunity to surprise and become a marquee choice for competitions for our future.