It was announced today that Strathcona County won their bid to host the 2026 Alberta Summer Games.

The Alberta Summer Games has been hosted annually for nearly 50 years, and, since 1998,18 athletes have gone from the games to the Olympics and Paralympics. The games typically take place over the span of four days, and feature sports like beach volleyball, rugby 7s, and track and field. Athletes will go through zone playoffs in their specific sport before being selected to participate in the games.

Now that Strathcona County has been named host, they can move forward with planning specifics for the games like dates, host venues, etc. To help with operational costs, the provincial government will grant $820,000 to help cover things such as staffing, transportation and promotions. This year's games brought in over 10,000 visitors and $9.5 million to the local economies of Okotoks and Diamond Valley this past summer, according to the Alberta government.

Next year's Alberta Summer Games will be held in Coaldale, and the 2025 Games will be held in Leduc.

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