Hamilton families to host U.S. youth athletes

The population of many Hamilton homes will grow this weekend, as host families welcome youth athletes from the U.S. for the three-day CANUSA  Games sports competition.  

The CANUSA Games,  the largest and longest running international games in North America, are coming back to Hamilton for the 56th anniversary.

The Olympic-style competition is hosted alternatively between Hamilton and Flint, Mich., each year.  This year's events will be bring together 1,000 youth from the two cities to participate in 16 sports. 

The Games, which began in 1958 with only seven sports and 200 athletes,  will also bring 1,100 visitors to Hamilton and have an estimated economic impact of $680,000, thanks to hotel stays and other purchases, according to CANUSA organizers. 

 CANUSA offers an opportunity for grassroots youth sports enthusiasts to compete in friendly rivalry, according to CANUSA Hamilton's spokesperson Lisa Rogers.

The Games' unique billet program - where out-of-town athletes are paired with host families with children who play the same sports - also offers an intimate sports experience that can't be found in other international games.

"It's a chance for Hamilton and Flint kids to get to know each other," Rogers said. "The kids have a great time."

"It's amazing that by Sunday morning it's like they've been together and known each other for years," she said, adding that host families often take their young guests to barbecues, picnics and other bonding activities.

This year's celebration, however, also carries a sombre message.

James Bracy, a long-time volunteer of CANUSA Flint, passed away in January at the age of 68. He had been part of the Games as an athlete and later a committee member since CANUSA's inception in 1958. Athletes from both sides of the border will be wearing T-shirts with Bracy's initials. An award has also been created in basketball for a player who best exemplifies the spirits of the Games in honour of Bracy.

The Games' organizers in Hamilton - most of them volunteers - have been planning the competition for almost a year. Try-outs started in May and continued throughout summer. Weather is expected to be much nicer than last year when it rained for the entire weekend in Flint.

CANUSA 2013 will run from Aug. 9 to 11. The opening ceremony will be held at Bernie Arbour Stadium in Mohawk Sports Park.

CANUSA Games is as much about friendship as it is competition. We'd like to show some of those enduring friendships. Do you have pictures of  you and your CANUSA friends? From last year?  20, 30 years ago? Post them to our facebook page, tweet to us @cbchamilton or email us at hamilton@cbc.ca and will build an online tribute to those enduring friendships.