A guide to the 2025 Southern Alberta Summer Games

Times Photo Courtesy of Blair Takahashi. SASG: Pictured is Southern Alberta Summer Games action in Coaldale last year.

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Southern Alberta Summer Games (SASG) will return to Taber just as this year’s Canada Day celebrations are winding down. From July 2 to 5, both individual and team sporting events will play out in and around town, with an expected 2,000 athletes and coaches to merge for the competition.

 During last year’s Games in Coaldale, local photographer Blair Takahashi captured photos of both the high-energy and low-impact games as they played out. The events included:

-Field, track, and beach sports like baseball, flag football, soccer, lacrosse, sprints and distance running, the shot put, track cycling, and volleyball in the sand.

-Court sports. Volleyball, basketball, and racquet sports like badminton and pickleball.

-Pool competitions, various swimming events.

-Strength sports like powerlifting.

-Low-impact activities like darts and video games.

 Heading into this year’s Games, everyone who’s feeling their competitive fires burning can contact the Southern Alberta Recreation Association (SARA) to register for the 2025 Summer Games. Kaylee Hurt, SARA chair and Town of Bow Island recreation facilitator, explained the details.

 “We anticipate that registrations will open here at the beginning of May. Participants aged six to 80 are welcome to register for the games. Each region will have a designated regional director who will assist participants with the registration process,” she said. “It is the job of the regional director to make sure their region knows who they are, also they will be posted on the official Southern Alberta Summer Games website.”

 Participants can search the site for their regional director a week or two before registrations open. Each designated regional director will guide players through the online system, RAMP, for registration and to ensure that everyone is in the right age group, category, and sport. Both individuals and teams can register, provided that all team members are from the same region.

 “If members of the team do not live in or reside in the same region, SARA will allow the member to come and join, but all events will have to be changed to that region. For example, if a member living in the County of 40-Mile would like to make a three on three basketball team with residents in Medicine Hat and also run individually in track, they would be a member of Medicine Hat not the County of 40-Mile,” Hurt explained further.

 “Each sport is different and requires different ages, groupings, and categories and that is why it is very important to talk to your regional director so they can help guide you,” she said.

 The SASG are inclusive of 13 regions: Cardston County, City of Lethbridge, City of Medicine Hat, County of 40-Mile, County of Newell, County of Warner, Cypress County, Lethbridge County, MD of Pincher Creek, MD of Taber, MD of Willow Creek, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, and Vulcan County.

 Each region is responsible for providing their athletes with their own region t-shirts. Teams and individuals can learn more at http://www.southernalbertasummergames.ca