A historic sports tradition is making its way to St. Catharines on Saturday, May 28.

As part of the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, U.K., the 2022 Queen’s Baton is arriving at Canada Games Park, one stop in the 294-day relay through 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

Brock’s Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) is inviting the University community to participate as official Batonbearers for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay, which serves as a ceremonial build-up to the Games set to take place in Birmingham this summer.

Julie Stevens, Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management and Director of the CSC at Brock, said her group is excited to work with the Commonwealth Sport Canada and the Canada Summer Games to host this unique event.

“We are thrilled to share this exciting opportunity with the Brock community and celebrate sport in this way,” she said. “This year, the Queen’s Baton features innovative technology with the ability to track how many hands it has touched. Our goal is to have the most people carry the baton out of all the Canadian hosts. We would love to see as many people as possible join us in being a part of this historic celebration.”

Each Batonbearer will carry the Queen’s Baton for 100 metres at the Canada Games Park track before handing the baton off.

The event runs from 2 to 5:30 p.m. and all are welcome to join in the festivities, including running, walking or rolling alongside the Batonbearers.

Read more and register for the event on the CSC’s website.

The Queen’s Baton Relay is a longstanding Games tradition that dates back to 1958. The event aims to celebrate the Commonwealth’s diversity while inspiring community pride.

Her Majesty the Queen officially launched the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Oct. 7, 2021. The global journey will cover a total of 140,000 kilometres.