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The inaugural YXE Urban Games drew athletes and artists from around the world to Saskatoon’s Victoria Park over the weekend, participating in everything from 3×3 basketball to wakeboarding, roller skating, mural painting and spoken word performance.
“We have Olympians and national team members here,” YXE Urban Games co-chair Michael Linklater pointed out during the opening ceremonies on Friday night. “And, looking in front of me, I know we have future Olympians and future national team members too.
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“We are so grateful, and we want to see all of you compete and have as much fun as possible. But it’s so important to understand, especially for the young ones, that you are all role models. There are so many people who are coming here to watch you play that wish they could be in your shoes.”
Linklater, an award-winning retired Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) player, was inspired to bring Urban Games events to Saskatoon after attending the World Urban Games in Budapest, Hungary in 2019.
He immediately knew this was something where Saskatoon could “do its own spin on it,” bringing world-class talent from around the world to compete while highlighting local sport, art and culture.
“We want this to grow into a multi-year, multi-sport international games,” Linklater said to the crowd gathered on Friday night. “This is our first year — and I love being a part of history, and you are all a part of history.”
To celebrate that history-making spirit, the opening ceremonies featured a wealth of only-in-Saskatchewan collaborative performances as breakdancers showed off their moves side-by-side with fancy shawl and jingle dress dancers, accompanied by Métis fiddler Joe Jackson and the Living Sky Taiko drummers.
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“This is the power of Saskatoon,” said deputy mayor Darren Hill. “To take a dream and create a platform and a stage to demonstrate the excellence of the people that reside here and the people that have come from all around the globe.
“We are bursting with pride.”
StarPhoenix photojournalist Michelle Berg was at the park on Saturday, capturing the excitement …
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