There’s no better person to open a world-class track and field facility than a world-class track and field athlete.
Fortunately, Burnaby Central Secondary boasts a grad who was up to the task this week.
Curtis Moss, a two-time Canadian javelin champion who represented Canada at the London Olympics two years ago, was back at his alma mater Wednesday afternoon for the official opening of the school’s new eight-lane running track and dedicated throws area.
After an emotional speech, the 2005 grad christened the lit artificial-turf infield with a javelin toss as Burnaby central athletes and local, provincial and federal dignitaries looked on.
The $5.9-million project was the final piece of the $55-million new Burnaby Central Secondary school construction project undertaken when the provincial government decided it would be cheaper to build a new school than to seismically upgrade the old one.
The school opened in 2011, but the track wasn’t completed until last September.
It will be a big asset to student athletes, Moss said.
“It’s a huge, huge opportunity,” he told the NOW. “It makes me wish I was 15 years younger so I could go back.”
The facility includes a plaza, new seating area, state-of-the-art running track, lit artificial turf field, grass field and throwing facilities for javelin, discus, shot put and hammer.
Such amenities were non-existent when Moss first picked up a throwing spear in Grade 10 to try his luck on the old track’s infield.
“The first day I went out, they had soccer goal posts up,” he said, “so I didn’t even get to throw off a javelin runway. I was just throwing around off the grass and off the track a little bit, but sideways. I had to watch out for sprinters. I had to watch out for people going home after school. It was a bit of mayhem.”
With the dedicated throws area now separate from the track, those days are gone, making both practices and competitions more efficient, Moss said.
Built to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) standards, the new facility also has the potential to be used for international competitions and will give students who want to compete at the highest level a chance to practise at the same kind of facility they will encounter in competition, Moss said.
“It makes it easier for people to get hooked on it too,” he said.
But the new facilities won’t just benefit Burnaby Central athletes.
A partnership between the school district and the City of Burnaby, the facility will also be a boon to community sports groups outside of school hours, with Burnaby Girls Soccer, the Burnaby Striders Track and Field Club, Burnaby Men’s Soccer and neighbours already using the facilities on a regular basis.
“It’s a great facility, and I know it’s going to be well used not only by the students but by the community in the future,” deputy mayor Nick Volkow said.
